


Ben Solo: The Way Home

by jesswritesthis



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ajan Kloss, Angst and Feels, Ben Solo Lives, F/M, Force Dyad (Star Wars), Force Ghost Anakin Skywalker, Force-Sensitive Finn (Star Wars), Galactic Senate (Star Wars), Jedi Texts (Star Wars), Millennium Falcon - Freeform, New Jedi Order (Star Wars), Planet Ahch-To (Star Wars), Planet Chandrila (Star Wars), Planet Tatooine (Star Wars), Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Redeemed Ben Solo, Reformed Stormtroopers (Star Wars), Resistance Base (Star Wars), The World Between Worlds (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 51,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29400750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesswritesthis/pseuds/jesswritesthis
Summary: Unbalanced without the other half of the dyad, Rey hopes for a way to reach Ben Solo after his disappearance on Exegol. The discovery of a strange book takes her back to Tatooine and other familiar locations, and soon Ben returns to a world that is working hard to rebuild itself in the wake of the Final Order's destruction.But Ben Solo has returned with the aim of fulfilling one final destiny - one that even Rey cannot sense in him - and when most people see him only for who he was, not who he is, he thinks that destiny will be easy to fulfil. But defenders can come from the most unexpected places... Especially when Ben Solo could be crucial when it comes to Rey's intentions for the new Jedi Order.The Force demands balance, and he was, after all, the son of a princess and a scoundrel before he was anything else... This is the story of Ben Solo, after the end of Kylo Ren.
Relationships: Kaydel Ko Connix/Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren/Rey/Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 22
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story provides a new hope for the character of Ben Solo. All characters, names, places, historical events are the property of Disney/LucasFilm and are used here in a fan-created story in honour of the inspiration Star Wars gives to us all.
> 
> I try to be as consistent with the movies as I can, as well as the canon books and comics. However, there are gaps in my knowledge and I'll need to use artistic licence throughout. I've also created some new characters
> 
> This story is on Wattpad and is in its most up-to-date version there. I'm slowly migrating the chapters over to AO3 and trying to do one each day, time permitting.
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> \--
> 
> Bespoke cover art © Kaylerinarts. Not to be copied, replicated or edited in any way, but may be shared exactly as designed with artist (@Kaylerinarts) and author (@jessicafisherwriter) tags.
> 
> \--

**Ajan Kloss, 35 ABY**

"How long has she been sitting there like that?"

Before she even looked at him, Rose Tico could sense the deep worry in Finn's question. She sighed, turning to look at the small figure in the distance. "A few hours."

"Has she eaten? Drank anything?"

Rose shook her head. "No. Not that I know of. I've been watching her almost the whole time, but I've also been looking at these logs. She could've done without me noticing, when I wasn't looking, but..." She trailed off.

"You don't think so," Finn finished.

"No."

A few moments of silence passed. Rose glanced at Finn. His jaw was set, his brow furrowed. He looked like that a lot these days. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him completely happy.

"Seventy days she's been like this now," Finn said, hands on his hips.

"You've been counting?"

"A joint effort between me and BB-8. He's better at keeping track of the numbers."

Rose nodded. The little droid was as worried about Rey as the rest of them. He had formed a bond with her that was so deep it was as though they'd been together for decades, not just a little over a year. But then, wasn't that how it felt for all of them? Rose, Finn, Rey, Poe, Chewie, the droids – they'd been thrown together not all that long ago, if you counted in standard months, and yet...

Yet it felt as if they were family. Unbreakable. _Funny_ , Rose thought, with a bittersweet tinge. So many of them had no real family left at all. And maybe that was why they'd all pulled together so tightly. A band of foundlings against the world, except with grown-up problems to face, and grown-up battles to fight. Where she'd be without them all, she didn't want to know.

Rose closed the log she'd been attempting to annotate. As she'd been keeping one eye on Rey, she'd barely made a dent in the work anyway. She'd tackle it later.

"What should we do?" she asked quietly.

Finn likely wouldn't have an answer. She'd asked this question so many times before.

He looked at her for a few moments before putting his arm around her shoulder. "I just don't know."

"It's like she can't live without him, isn't it?"

She heard Finn's tight exhale of breath before he spoke. "Not in any real sense, no. And I don't know what to do with that."

"Maybe we should get everyone together, try to figure out a way of getting through to her. Maz might have some ideas. Or there could be something in the datapads that came from Coruscant? There's got to be some information left in there somewhere from the Temple, unless the Jedi Council had it set to auto-wipe." She looked up at him. "We could even go there. I want to at some point, so we can get access to the archives. I could—"

"I know you could. You can find anything anywhere, and I love you for that."

A small smile lifted the very corner of Finn's mouth. The tiny glint of positivity settled over Rose like a warm blanket.

She shrugged. "I don't know... I'm sure if there was something that could help her then we would have found it by now. We have enough people trying to put the archive material back together."

"But not everyone's you, are they?"

"I hate seeing her this way. If there's anything I can do to make it better, I'll do it."

"I know." Finn sighed, his arm tightening around Rose's shoulders. "Any of us would."

~

Rey focused on her breath in. Her breath out.

_Be with me._

She thought it again. And again. Once more.

And a hundred more times after that.

And just like every other time, she heard nothing in return. He wasn't there. But she would never stop trying.

It had been more than two standard months since the battle of Exegol. It seemed so far distant, but at the same time not so very long ago – because it was the last time she felt like she'd been truly alive. And every day since, she had reached out for him – hoping for a glimpse, a whisper.

But there was nothing.

_Be with me. Be with me..._

"Rey?"

Her eyes flew open at the sound of her name, hoping for just the tiniest of moments that it might be him calling to her after all this time.

"Sorry. I disturbed you. I'll, er... come back later."

She turned, her heart falling. "It's fine, Poe. What can I do?"

Poe Dameron scratched his head awkwardly. "We're ready to set off for Kashyyyk. I wanted to let you know. Say goodbye. Want me to get you anything while we're away?" He cracked a sheepish grin. "A fern for your room? Baby photos of Chewie?"

She looked away. "I'm fine. Good luck."

Poe nodded. "Thanks. Connix is helming the comms desk. She'll have the latest if you need to check in."

Silence for a few moments.

"I hope you'll find plenty of people this time," Rey said quietly.

They'd landed in too many places now only to find them utterly deserted, the people left to starve in the destruction of the Final Order.

"Yeah. Me too. See you, Rey."

Poe clasped the top of her shoulder for a second or two before his footsteps disappeared back up to the crest of the ridge.

Rey looked at the blades of grass on the ground in front of her, wavering in the gentle breeze. The sound of Poe's footsteps had gone now. She could hear birdsong, and the distant sounds of shouting and grinding as boxes were loaded and unloaded from transporters. It was a noise that had become so ubiquitous as they worked on rebuilding and recovery plans that now she barely registered it.

She opened her hand and stared at the bloodstained scrap of white cloth that lay on her palm. This material, torn from her own clothing, was the only remnant she had of Ben's existence. She had no way of knowing that the bloodstain, no longer bright red, belonged to him. It could be her own blood, or even both of theirs. But she had nothing else to hold on to. And if she couldn't hear him, at least she could remember he was there, once.

A shuddery breath escaped her as she felt a familiar tightening in her chest. She swallowed down the tears and refocused her mind.

_Be with me. Be with me._

_Please be with me... Ben._

~

Finn strode into the loading area just as the pilots were climbing into their crafts. He quickened his pace – darting between the droids, the piles of boxes, the packers and loaders – looking for that familiar head of dark curly hair.

"Seen Poe?" he asked Beaumont Kin, spotting the man ticking off a list on a datapad.

"Third ship up," Kin responded, nodding a little further along the line. "Be quick, though – last I saw, he was already in the cockpit."

"Thanks," Finn muttered, breaking into a jog. He slapped the fuselage of Poe's starfighter as soon as he came upon it. Poe, busy with his pre-flight ritual, glanced down and nodded at Finn. He raised the canopy, to several beeps of what sounded like a greeting, but could have been consternation, from BB-8 behind him.

"What's up, buddy?"

"Did you talk to her?" Finn called up.

"Yeah. She didn't say much. I'm sorry."

Finn sighed. "OK. Thanks."

"Listen," Poe called, as his friend began to turn away. "For what it's worth? We'll get through to her someday. It's just gonna take some more time."

"Yeah. How long, though – that's what I can't understand. We need her. It's not right."

Poe raised a shoulder. "That's the mystery. None of us ever split a dyad before. But she needs us too. We've just gotta keep letting her know we're here. It'll happen, bud."

Finn nodded with an enthusiasm he didn't really feel. "Yeah, thanks. Good luck. May the Force be with you."

"Always." Poe winked as his canopy lowered, BB-8 placated with the resumption of the pre-flight checklist.

 _The dyad_ , Finn thought as he walked back to the preparation area, the low roar of engines firing up behind him. Perhaps that was what they needed to find out: what the dyad really meant. Nobody had really known anything about it until Maz had told him it was why Rey and Ren had been so tightly bonded, and the thought of any sort of connection between them rankled Finn deeply.

For Rey – who was as good as his sister – to be inextricably bound to the cruellest man Finn had ever known was unjust beyond words. It was something he still struggled to accept, and he doubted he ever would. After Ren died – well, that should have broken the bond, shouldn't it? But maybe that was exactly why Rey had not been the same since Exegol. Maybe the breaking of the dyad had actually broken _her_.

The fallout from the Final Order battle had been a lot for all of them – the deaths, the losses, the thought of how it could have ended... Not to mention the gargantuan task ahead of them as they sought to restore some sort of equilibrium to the galaxy. They'd barely made a dent in the number of planets they'd visited, trying to ascertain the level of damage that had been done, how many people needed help, medicine, water, food. The work was never-ending. Involved at every stage was Rey, but with no light behind her eyes.

And every morning she could be seen sitting at the bottom of a hill to the west of the base, where most sounds travelled over the basin from the crest above. Where the only things you could hear were birds and the breeze. He knew that when she was sitting there alone, still as anything, Rey was trying to reach Ben.

And yet nobody could reach Rey.

Finn sighed as he walked back into the comms room, where Connix and the others were monitoring take-offs. Soon enough their crew would arrive on Kashyyyk, hopefully with better news this time – especially for Chewie, who had been worried about his family for weeks.

Finn picked up the pace. He needed to hurry if he wanted to catch up with Jannah. He knew she'd made huge strides in connecting with ex-stormtrooper cells across several star systems, and she'd be busy planning out the next phase of the outreach.

 _At least there's something I can do right,_ Finn thought. Grabbing his datapad from the desk, he left the comms room.

~

**The Vergence, deep beneath Exegol**

In the rocks here grew a strange type of foliage. It was mostly dark purple – or that's how it looked in the half-light. But every now and then it turned silver and its leaves would furl inward.

Ben Solo had watched it do this many, many times over. He couldn't say for how long. Perhaps when it turned silver, it meant that night had fallen. He had no way of knowing.

He had no concept of time passing. He slept fitfully, at strange intervals. Sometimes without even noticing, sometimes after what felt like far too long a fight.

Hunger didn't strike him, ever. And yet his body did not appear to have suffered for it. Thirst pursued him from time to time, and when it did he would cup droplets of icy water from the sharp, jet-black rocks around him. It always tasted like metal. Each time he did this he felt the rough growth of stubble along his jaw, giving him some sense of time, but not enough.

Sometimes he wondered if his time here was temporary. A passing-through.

He'd heard of such things, of course, in books he'd read a long time ago.

At other times he wondered if it would be for ever. It would be all right if it was. He could only think of one thing he deserved more than endless nothingness.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Vergence, deep beneath Exegol**

The time Ben spent here had left him with only his thoughts. Besides the slow plink of water, and the occasional gentle whoosh of a breeze seeping through the rocks, there was nothing.

He had known he would probably die when he'd placed his hand on Rey's stomach to heal her. To give some of your life force over to someone in order to heal them was possible -- he had always known that thanks to...

...thanks to his uncle.

But to resurrect someone who was already dead? Had already stopped breathing? That wasn't a matter of simply sharing some of your life force. It would take a hell of a lot more. And he'd known that, but not once had he second-guessed his actions.

In those moments, when he'd held Rey's body in his arms -- still and lifeless -- he'd focused more than he'd ever focused on anything.

_Be mindful of your thoughts, Ben..._

That was the voice he'd heard as he offered his life for hers. The voice of Master Luke -- his uncle. Words that had been said to Ben many years ago, but which he remembered as clearly as the day they'd been spoken.

As a young boy, Ben had hoped his time at the academy would be a new lease of life, a chance to show his own brand of bravery and strength. The burden that had sat on his shoulders as a child was heavy. He was representing the new generation of one of the famous families in the galaxy. Son of a princess who later became a resistance general, nephew of one of the greatest Jedi Knights ever to exist, and son of a scoundrel pilot who had somehow still become as well-known and respected.

Ben sighed, picking at a tear in the fabric of his trousers. He had tried to tell his father how he'd felt, in that strange moment in the middle of the raging sea on Kef Bir. He needed to tell him he loved him. But his dad -- well...

The inimitable Han Solo had never wanted to hear those words. Ben had never really known why. His mother once told him it was because, having been abandoned as a child, Solo had never fully been able to accept the fact that he'd found a family who loved him no matter what.

Ben's throat thickened with sorrow.

What had he done? What mess had he created?

His father had never been perfect, had rarely been there in Ben's childhood, and never seemed to take things seriously. But he was still just a father who loved his son. Ben knew now that he had wasted too many years hating him, wanting to punish him.

He had no idea how long he had been in this strange place, but it had allowed him to reflect on all that he -- Kylo Ren -- had done. Death, destruction, fear, power at all costs...

He had even killed his own father to try to prove his own worth to someone who had never really existed. A destructive creation of a being who'd been puppeted by Palpatine to twist loyalties and skew truth, to seek power at all costs.

He had been so stupid. So reckless, so cruel. So blind.

When he'd held Rey in his arms -- had sought the Force within him and told it to leave his body, to go to her instead -- it had been an attempt at a correction. He had done so much wrong, and after all that time he needed desperately to do something right. And it may have been too late, but it was never too little.

Because she had lived. The Force had listened. It had sought balance by allowing Ben to transfer his own life force to Rey and bring her back from the world beyond.

It had been too late to rescue his father, to turn back the clock and change what he'd done -- and he'd known, by then, that it was also too late for his mother.

But Rey... She was hope.

Since he'd first set eyes on her in the forests of Takodana, she had been hope to him. He would never have admitted it then, though a part of him had known the minute they'd laid eyes on each other. But it wasn't just about what she meant to him. She was hope for the galaxy. She had the power to bring the Jedi Path back to life for countless others, to find a new generation ready to seek balance and peace within the Force.

And she would do it. Because in that moment he'd mustered all his hope, his courage, his belief, his sorrow -- even his love -- for her. He'd given her his life force, and he'd seen her path. Just glimpses, fast and flickering, but enough to know what she would become, what she would achieve.

For as long as he remained in this place, he would ache not to see her future play out. He would never lay eyes on her again. Or anyone else, for that matter. This purgatory, this divergence, this solitude -- it was all he knew now. But Rey -- her path still had so many steps to be taken.

If he focused he could remember parts of what he had seen, when the Force had breathed life back into her lungs. He had seen her standing on the sands of Tatooine, those burning twin suns behind her, the cloth of her wrap drifting in the breeze.

He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, trying to replay the glimpse as fully as he could. Hoping against hope there was something else he could recall, some other tiny snippet that could give him just a little more time with her.

And that's when he saw it. The book in her hands.

 _She will find it_ , a voice whispered.

Ben's eyes flew open. He cast his gaze around at the rocks.

What did this mean? In all the times he'd replayed these scenes in his mind, he'd never seen this book before. All he had seen was her: the sky, the sands, the wisps of fabric wrapped around her torso. But the book she held -- it was old. And as he saw her gaze down at it, her eyes lit up.

She had seen hope.

Just then a grey light began to dawn behind one of the rocky outcrops in front of him. Glowing steadier and clearer, it brought with it an eerie hush -- something Ben had never heard in this dark, dank space.

He scrambled to his feet, his breath coming faster, trying to stand as well as he could when one of his legs still bore the pain of the battle of Exegol.

A shape began to take form as the glow brightened, drifting ever closer to him. It was a man -- tall and strong, in a long hooded cloak. Bright eyes in the darkness, a smile that lilted slightly at one side.

It couldn't -- _But how...?_

"Ben. I thought I might find you here. It's good to see you... Grandson."


	3. Chapter 3

**Ajan Kloss**

Rey watched the canopy of Poe's craft buzz upwards.

He pulled off his helmet and pushed a gloved hand through his hair then looked around, his gaze softening when it stopped on her.

"How did you get on?" she asked, walking slowly up to the craft.

"Not bad. Kashyyyk is in pretty condition, all things considered. They're short on a few supplies but only non-essentials. Nothing we can't handle through the new trade plans." She stepped back as he jumped down and gave her a hug. "How ya doing?" he asked softly, ending the hug quickly and punctuating it with a light hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine. How soon can we start shipping to them?"

"Not long if Connix has anything to do with it. And like I said, the Wookiees are doing OK."

Rey lifted her gaze over his shoulder. "Where's Chewie, is he all right?"

"He's golden. Decided to hang back for a few days, catch up with some relatives. Did you know he has seven uncles? And they're all taller than him."

She couldn't help cracking a small smile. Any room where Chewie was the shortest one in it was a space to be beholden. "I'll miss him," she said, and Poe seemed surprised by the sudden honesty about her feelings.

"Yeah, me too. His presence is always--"

"Pungent?" Beaumont Kin chipped in as he passed, his ever-present datapad in hand.

"Actually I was going to say comforting," Poe called to his friend, who retreated with a grin on his face before Poe turned back to Rey. "He hasn't seen some of his family since the Empire days. Can you believe that?"

They began walking up to the comms base, where Poe would debrief with Connix so that plans for trade and assistance to Kashyyyk could be put into action.

"It's a long time," Rey agreed, crossing her arms as they moved between the aircraft, veering around the ever-present buzz of activity. "I'm glad he's going to stay for a while. He needs it after..."

She couldn't say it. She felt Poe look at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I know. His losses these past couple of years -- they're huge."

Rey nodded, swallowing her emotions as she'd become so used to doing. Poe put his hand on her shoulder again: a touch heavy enough to say he meant it, but light enough to say he knew she was still hurting.

"We're doing what Leia would want us to do. You know that, right?" he said quietly.

Rey looked up at him briefly and then away again, her eyes settling on the dense greenery surrounding the base. The colours still stunned her. "I know. I just... Never mind." She shook her head.

"You just what?" Poe stopped and turned to face her, dipping his head to meet her gaze on the level.

"Nothing." She looked at the ground.

"Rey, talk to me. We worry about you. What you went through down there--"

"Please don't." She bit out the words.

"I'm not going to say it. None of us went through what you did, but we are here for you, any time, any place. You need us as much as we need you. We're family. Let us help you."

She was silent for a few seconds. What he said was true, she knew that. She never had a doubt about any of them, or how much they cared. But what could they do? What could any of them do?

"I don't know how you can," she finally said, almost too quiet for him to hear.

Poe sighed. "I don't know either. But we'll find a way. You know we will. All of us."

Rey gave him a small smile, more out of duty than any type of genuine emotion, then changed the subject. "Look, Connix is waiting for you. Better get moving. I'm going to check in with Rose."

Poe nodded to Rey before turning. He strode up to the comms base where Connix waited with a smile.

Rey walked around the outside of the buildings, heading out to the admin base where Rose spent most of her time. She'd been working non-stop in her search for knowledge resources, artefacts, texts, documentation -- any sort of records that would help them in their quest to try to restore some semblance of order and cooperation to the galaxy. The work was sometimes fruitless, occasionally devastating depending on what they found, and often inspiring. There was a lot of hope out there. But Rey couldn't always feel it for herself.

She flexed her fingers and stretched her arms out as she walked on to the open verandah of the admin base. It was less military-looking than the other buildings, and so it felt a lot more comfortable and homey. Two sides of the structure were open to the elements, one of them peering down into a lush valley of foliage where a river burbled beneath the trees.

Rose seemed right at home amongst all the papers and wooden chests, the piles of datapads and leatherbound volumes. Maz and her people had managed to recover some -- but not all -- of the items stored beneath the ruins of her castle on Takodana. But something was better than nothing, and who only knew what things lay within the trunks and chests.

"Rose, how are you getting on?" Rey asked as she took the couple of steps up to the platform where her friend sat, surrounded by piles of paper.

"Rey!"

Her name was spoken by two voices at the same time, and Rey saw two heads pop up from behind one of the voluminous paper piles. She smiled. "Finn."

He came to her quickly, his arms outstretched as he hurried to embrace her. "It's good to see you," he murmured.

"You too," she replied.

And it was. Finn's belief in her, his love for her, was something she could always feel whenever he was near. When she so often didn't feel it for herself, he always managed to buoy her emotions up.

"Hi, Rey," Rose called, a broad smile on her face.

"Any developments?" Rey asked quickly, before the two of them started asking how she was.

Her friends exchanged a charged glance.

"What?"

"Well..." Rose began uncertainly.

Finn took Rey's arm and led her gently over to a seat.

"What is it?" she asked, unnerved by their behaviour. "What did you find?"

"It's not _what_ we've found," Rose answered, looking to Finn once more.

"It's who," he finished.

"You found a person?" Rey asked, confused.

"Not quite," Rose said, getting up from her desk with a datapad in her hands.

"We didn't think it was recoverable at first," Finn put in. "It's cracked and it had been buried beneath a jar of -- well, something weird that had cracked and leaked. You don't want to know what it smelled like."

"Kind of like tar, but with a leaf-mould sort of smell?" Rose added.

"What's on it?" Rey interrupted. "Please, just tell me."

"Rose managed to repair it. It started upgrading itself and we thought it would be blank by the time it came back to life, but it's not."

"Finn, please. Just say it."

Rey couldn't bear the dangling possibility of hope that might turn out to be nothing. What she'd found out about herself, how she'd come to still be here today... Each night she went to sleep praying the first thing wasn't true, that the second thing hadn't happened the way it had.

The way Finn and Rose were behaving suggested they had found something big. Something that would affect her.

Rose unlocked the datapad and held it out.

"It belonged to a woman called Jocasta Nu," Finn said. "She was a Jedi. She was also the Chief Librarian at the Jedi Temple during the Clone Wars."

The skin on the back of Rey's neck began to prickle, as though a warm breath had drifted across it. "And?" She took the datapad, her eyes racing over the screen.

"Before the Temple was destroyed, Nu salvaged some of the books. She hid them away and Luke found them years later. But, Rey..."

She looked up and held Finn's gaze. "What?"

"One of the books was missing. She'd given it to Master Yoda, who had given it to someone else. It was another of the sacred texts."

Rey's breath was coming quickly now. She'd been scouring the texts for any clues or ideas on whether Ben could still be reached somehow, somewhere, but she'd only come up with vague mentions of a chain of worlds, and nothing on how to find them.

"Which one? Who had it?"

"The first, we don't know. The second we do. Nu wrote their name -- and where the book was taken -- right there."

Rey looked down at the screen. Finn swished past a few sections and then pointed squarely at a name.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Rey read, the name somehow feeling familiar and well-worn on her lips. "The Jundland Wastes, Tatooine..."

She looked up. Rose stepped closer.

"Obi-Wan watched over Luke as he grew up on Tatooine. I asked Maz about it. He was Anakin Skywalker's master before -- well, you know. He then helped train Luke. Rey, when this man lived there he went by the name of Ben Kenobi. He knew Luke, Leia -- all of them."

Finn nodded. "We don't know what it means, but..."

_Ben..._

"We're going back to Tatooine," Rey said, jumping up from her seat. "We have to find that book."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Vergence, deep beneath Exegol**

Ben tried to even out his breathing. "G-grandfather...?"

The figure ahead shimmered clearly into view and came to a stop just a few paces in front of him. Two hands -- one mechanical -- reached up and pushed back the hood of the cloak, revealing long curly hair and the face of a young Anakin Skywalker.

"Hello, Ben. You know who I am?"

"I do," Ben replied after a few seconds, his voice scratchy and raw after who knew how many days of silence.

"Ah. I did wonder. I know that for many years you were preoccupied with... who I became. I wasn't sure you would recognise me for who I once was. How are you?"

"I'm..." Ben shrugged, not really knowing what to say.

"Stupid question. Forget I asked. How can someone be when they're stuck here, not knowing what comes next -- or even if it will."

"Where is here, exactly?"

"This is the World Between Worlds," Anakin said. "You've heard of it?"

"I know there are places beyond life. Places people might never come back from. Luke... He told me about them once."

It pained Ben that the name still felt uncomfortable to say. He'd spent so many years training himself to resent it. More bitterness waged, more vitriol expended on someone who had only ever made a mistake. Just like himself.

"Luke, yes..." Anakin said, his gaze disappearing into the distance for a moment. "He accomplished a lot in his time. He stood for what was right."

Ben looked down at the ground, the grey rock silted with dust and stones on which he stood. "As all Skywalkers did," Anakin added.

"Some more than most," Ben murmured.

"And you believe that you -- that Kylo Ren -- did the most damage of all?"

Ben looked up into his grandfather's shimmering eyes. His jaw worked before he replied, "Yes. And I've received what I deserved -- some sort of eternal damnation."

"I can see you believe that. But you do know that if you hadn't turned to the light -- as Rey always said you would -- then Palpatine and the Sith would likely have won?"

"We can't know that. Rey is strong. Perhaps the strongest Jedi to live. How else could she have done what she did?"

Anakin was silent for a few moments. He smiled. "It was certainly impressive."

"You saw it?"

"I did. We all of us spoke to her. The Jedi believe in her. But before that she wasn't completely sure she believed in herself. Not until you came to her. We couldn't have played our part if you hadn't played yours."

Ben shook his head. "All I did was buy her time. And if it weren't for me, none of it would have happened in the first place."

"Oh?" Anakin raised an eyebrow. He walked over to an outcrop of boulders and took a seat. "You don't believe that Palpatine would have chosen another target, another victim? Would have created some other variation on Snoke to suit his needs? He could have. But he chose you for a reason."

"Because I let him."

"No, Ben. Because it was personal. The Skywalkers cost Palpatine his power, his destiny -- more than once. Ultimately, we are the ones who consistently stood in his way. To use the child of a Skywalker to again wreak his destruction was the glittering jewel in his crown."

"But the dyad--"

"The dyad is more complicated than you think."

"But it _is_ real?" Ben asked.

He almost didn't want to question it. Palpatine -- Snoke -- had lied to him so many times he sometimes wondered if the dyad had been a lie too. An invention to make both himself and Rey see a connection between themselves that wasn't really there. And yet it was the strongest thing he'd ever felt, more powerful than the Force itself.

He looked at his grandfather, almost wishing he hadn't asked the question.

Anakin nodded. "It's real. And extremely powerful, as you've seen."

"Was it because of who we are? A Skywalker and a Palpatine?"

"That's a matter for another time." Anakin tilted his head, indicating the boulder next to him. "Sit down, Ben. I want to tell you about this place."

"I'm fine standing. All I do here is sit."

Anakin raised an eyebrow in amusement. "All right, though that leg may change your mind in time. So, you're unsure where 'here' is?"

"Luke once told me there were portals between worlds that could only be accessed by those who knew certain things about them."

"He was right. The portals are extremely difficult to access and most people aren't even aware of their existence. For many years the Jedi protected what they knew about them. It wouldn't do to have people scattering themselves across space and time according to their own needs. The fact that Rey was able to place my lightsaber in your hand when she was nowhere near you was suggestive of the nature of this place -- and of the link between you. But, again, that's for another time. The Jedi recorded some of the details of the portals into one of their texts and kept it sacrosanct. Did Luke ever show it to you?"

"No. Students weren't allowed to use the sacred texts."

Anakin snickered. "You never sneaked a peek?"

Ben looked to the side and shrugged before glancing back at his grandfather, who laughed fully this time.

"Just like a Solo! Or so I'm told, at least. And what did you discover?"

"I don't remember much. But it said the portals were linked together, like a chain. There were paths that could be taken between them if you knew where they were. But some had been destroyed and some were never found. Others needed a key."

"Correct."

"Did you learn this from the texts too? When you were a Jedi?"

"I can't reveal all of my sources, Ben. Suffice it to say that some of your Solo traits are very similar to Skywalker traits. We know how to get around the rules when we need to." He stretched out his legs. "I spent some time trying to find out more about these portals myself, at one time."

"As Vader?" Ben ventured.

Anakin nodded. "It was something Palpatine was searching for. You can imagine why. But I had already started to look for them myself."

A few moments of silence passed, and Ben didn't know if his grandfather was waiting for him to ask why. Instead, he said what was at the forefront of his mind.

"Palpatine used you too."

Anakin's lips formed a firm line. "He did. He saw a struggle in me, the fight I was waging between the dark and the light, and he used that to his own end. For many years I didn't see his deception for what it was. He had promised me something, and he never fulfilled that promise. By the time it was too late, I didn't care about the light any more. It had gone out. It didn't matter then, who I became."

Ben waited, his hands clasped in front of him, his bad leg aching more than it had done for some time.

Anakin sighed. "I wanted to find this place because I thought it might be a way to bring back Padmé. Your grandmother."

A shiver went through Ben. "But you didn't find her..." he said quietly.

"No. I never did. It was too late. She had passed fully into the Force and never entered the World Between Worlds. I believe it was because her -- her pain -- was too great. But I will never know for certain."

Silence again, but for the plink-plink of the water among the rocks.

"I would have liked to meet her."

"She would have had a lot of time for you, Ben," said Anakin, and Ben found his breath hitch in the back of his throat. "A young boy pulled between light and dark, legacy and opportunity, duty and freedom? She would have seen a lot of me in you -- and a lot of herself, too."

At this Ben could no longer fully restrain his emotion. He gritted his jaw hard as he felt a tear run down his cheek. He wiped it away briskly, his stubble rough against his palm.

Anakin watched him studiously. "You feel as though you don't deserve to hear such things?"

"I don't," Ben said roughly.

"Hmm. And yet beneath Kylo Ren was always Ben Solo. He is who you always were, and ultimately are. A Solo, a Skywalker -- my grandson."

"I spent too long as Vader's grandson," Ben replied.

"Vader, yes. So, if we are to play the game of who punishes themselves the most for what they did, for who they became, then where do I stand? Where do Darth Vader's crimes stand against those of Kylo Ren?"

Ben didn't know what to say. He turned and punched the rock behind him, cutting open his knuckles and cracking a bone.

"Ben..."

He turned, his good hand holding his damaged one, and looked his grandfather's spirit in the eye.

"Enough, my boy. Enough."

"But I--"

"You can't forgive yourself. You don't deserve happiness. You caused too much pain. I know you believe all these things."

The tears began to come thick and fast. Here was his grandfather -- the man he'd idolised for so many years -- and yet he was in his true form, not the twisted creature who had sought pain and revenge in order to forget all that he had lost. Anakin Skywalker was here, and he was speaking words of solace and comfort to his grandson.

"I don't deserve--"

"We don't get to decide what we deserve, Ben. The Force cannot be controlled when it comes to our ultimate destiny. We can tread our path, ignite our sabers, choose our fights, pick a side..."

"And I did that -- all of it wrong."

"And then you turned."

"Too late, it was too late. I--"

"It's never too late. You turned to the light and then the light took you. You let yourself go in order to save her."

Ben pushed the back of his good hand across his face, hating the tears, hating the pain.

"And when you saved her..."

Anakin raised his arm slowly, and though any physical touch was not possible, Ben felt the humming presence of his grandfather's hand against his jaw. A firm warmth. It felt like his father's hand.

"When you saved her, Ben, the Force brought you here. It's allowing you the possibility of a second chance."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ajan Kloss**

"Are you going with her? Is she leaving now?"

Finn was too busy shoving supplies into bags to look at Connix and Poe. "Yes and yes. We need to take Artoo as well. Rose thinks he may have been with Kenobi on Tatooine. He should be able to help us locate where he lived."

His friends exchanged a glance.

"You know you might arrive there and find nothing, just rubble and sand?" Connix asked.

Finn stood up, pulling the buckles tight on the final bag. "Yep."

"Do you think she's prepared for that?" said Poe. As always, Rey was at the forefront of all of their minds.

Finn sighed. "Probably not. This is the most hope I've seen in her since..." He raised his hands up and then let them drop back down again. "I can't even remember. You guys know how she's been, how lost she is. If we find this book and it gives her a way to--"

"To what? Contact him? Resurrect him? He's..." Poe looked around in case Rey was near, and lowered his voice. "He's _dead_."

"I know," Finn agreed. "We all know that. How could anything like that even be possible?"

"But it could be," Connix added. The two men looked at her. "Rey said he just disappeared. She didn't actually see him die, or stop breathing. He just vanished into thin air. If that's the case then it's possible he might still be in the Force somewhere."

Finn looked at Poe and then back at Connix. "In the Force? What does that mean?"

She shrugged. "I'm not even one hundred per cent sure myself. It's just something I've heard about. People who are Force-sensitive can sometimes connect with each other on a spiritual level even when they're dead. Maybe we could--"

Finn shook his head. "Guys, no, we are not asking Maz again. We can't keep asking her everything. I know she's older than us but we're supposed to be leaders, aren't we?" He raised his eyebrows.

Poe crossed his arms. "OK, fine. Let's say you find this book, and it has something in it about how to contact dead people, and she tries and it doesn't work. What then? Not to mention the disastrous results that could come from trying to reach into the... the beyond."

"We can't think about that now. She needs to go somewhere, do something, to feel like she's making progress and living life again. I want to help her do that. I need to."

Poe stepped back as Finn moved to leave the room, one bag slung on his shoulders and two more in his hands. "Some people call that enabling, you know."

"Others call it friendship, General," said Connix, raising an eyebrow at him. She turned back to Finn. "Do what you need to. At the very least it makes sense to retrieve a sacred Jedi text if there's one floating out there somewhere. And a change of scenery will do her some good. As for whatever comes after -- we'll deal with that if and when we need to."

Finn nodded at the two of them -- Connix smiling, Poe less so -- and headed for the Millennium Falcon.

~

Rey was already in the cockpit, flicking switches and double-checking the fuel load. R2-D2 was rattling around in the common area, beeping with positivity at having a task to do aboard his old faithful friend.

"Got everything?" Rey asked, too busy to look at Finn as he settled himself in the co-pilot's seat.

"I grabbed all kinds of stuff. No idea what it was, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Is Rose not coming?"

"No, she's going to try to make contact with Coruscant. See if she can track down anything else about Nu, the librarian."

Rey looked at him sharply.

"Don't worry, she's not going to mention the book or Kenobi."

Rey nodded. "If that book is out there, I won't feel safe until we've got it with us."

They all knew it was likely that pockets of Final Order sympathisers were still around. They would be disparate -- and in small numbers given how many had been present and perished on Exegol -- but it still meant there was a small undercurrent of potential danger. If anyone who still supported the Sith discovered that a sacred Jedi text was just waiting out there to be found, then it couldn't lead anywhere good.

The engines fired up and they heard the click-clunk of R2 securing himself in the common area behind them.

Finn looked at Rey. "Strange to be on the Falcon and heading out on a journey without Chewie, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Yeah, and we're not the only ones noticing it."

She smiled, nodding towards the family of Porgs who were comfortably nested in a cubbyhole by Finn's right leg.

~

**The Vergence, deep beneath Exegol**

The Force ghost of Anakin Skywalker watched as a depth of feeling played out on his grandson's face.

Ben's back slid down the rocks and he sat on the ground, exhausted. The emotional toll of his grandfather's visit was beginning to make itself felt, and his leg was throbbing.

"Soon you'll need to make a decision, my boy."

Ben looked up. "About what?"

Anakin hunkered down on to his ankles in front of him. "About whether you'll stay."

"Stay? I didn't think I had a choice. Isn't this just where I was sent now that I'm... dead?"

A smile. "Tell me, Ben, do dead people suffer pain? Do they bleed?"

Ben looked down at his hand, bruised and battered -- and yes, bleeding -- from where he'd struck the rock face in desolation. "But..."

"Remember what I said. This is the World Between Worlds. Here you are held in the Force. Not gone, but not present. Until such time as that choice is made, you continue to exist."

"A-- a choice? How is that even possible?"

"The Force continues to mystify. But your time is coming."

Ben ran his fingers over his cracked knuckles, feeling their ache and their heat. "How will I know when it has?"

"You'll hear her, Ben. Rey is searching for a way to find you, and when she does, she'll ask you to go back with her."

The thought of hearing her voice was enough to still his breath. "But how?"

"She'll be able to explain that to you herself. But as I said, you will need to choose. And I hope you choose well."

"I can't go back."

"Let me guess, you don't deserve to?"

Ben shook his head.

"Well, someone thinks you do."

There was silence for several moments. Ben took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart, which pounded solidly in his chest. He looked into his grandfather's eyes. "What about you, Grandfather? Will I see you again?"

"You will -- one way or another. There's much I have to tell you. Where you will be when I tell it... well, that's up to you."

With that, Anakin stood, and his outline shimmered brighter as he smiled down at his grandson. "Until then."

Ben struggled to his feet and nodded his head slowly. He watched his grandfather turn, pull up his hood, and fade gently away into the darkness.

He closed his eyes.

Rey was searching for him. He would hear her voice again. He could speak to her, after all this time.

A smile grew on his lips, uncontrolled. What would he say to her? And if -- somehow -- she came to him and she held out her hand and asked him to go with her, what would he do?


	6. Chapter 6

**On board the Millennium Falcon, the Outer Rim**

Finn unbuckled his seatbelt and headed back to the common area where R2-D2 was beeping busily.

"What is it, Artoo?"

The droid replied with a series of squeaks, bops and whines.

Finn shook his head. "I have got to work on my binary language skills," he muttered to himself.

"What did you say?" Rey called back from the cockpit.

"Artoo's got something to say. Not that I can translate it. Come on, buddy," Finn said, turning back to the droid and helping him on to the up-ramp to the cockpit.

"Did he get stuck again?" Rey asked.

"A little. He needs some quality engineering time when we get back."

"I'll get D'Acy to organise it. Artoo, what did you want to say?"

Finn settled back into his seat as Rey and R2-D2 conversed, though he was only privy to Rey's side of the conversation.

"Artoo knows exactly where we need to land," Rey announced after a few moments. She punched the coordinates into the navigation interface and banked the Falcon to the right slightly, a smile dawning on her face. "Shouldn't take long."

~

**Jundland Wastes, Tatooine**

Finn, two bags slung over his back, followed Rey down the Falcon's exit ramp and out into the dry heat.

They looked around, trying to spot a landmark of any sort. There was nothing except for a couple of radial masts far in the distance.

"This it?" Finn asked, walking ahead a few steps as R2-D2 shunted down the ramp behind them.

"Apparently so," Rey replied. "Do you see anything?"

"Sand? Yeah. Anything else -- not so much."

She sighed, pulling a wrap out of her bag and winding it around her head and mouth. "Well, let's get going."

Finn set off beside her, R2-D2 whirring merrily along behind them. "You sure this is the right direction, Artoo?" he asked after a few minutes.

The little droid emitted a string of genial beeps in reply.

Finn nodded. "OK then. Any ideas what it looks like? A hut? A homestead? One of these dome-looking things?"

Rey paced steadily along, her gaze set firmly ahead. "No idea. I'm hoping we'll know when we get there."

"Listen, Rey -- when we do..." Finn paused.

"Yes?"

"I just... What's your plan?"

"Honestly?" She looked at him briefly before settling her eyes back on the horizon. "I don't know."

"Do you think this book is going to have some new information in it about Jedi powers? Something you don't already know?"

"It could. It also might not. But I have to try, Finn."

He put a gentle hand on her arm and they both stopped walking. "But try what, exactly? What is it you're actually wanting to accomplish here? Rey, I--"

She gritted her jaw before speaking. "I know. I know what you want to say and I know what you're thinking. You want him to never be spoken of or thought of again."

"That's not what I--"

"It is, Finn. Please just admit it. I'd prefer it if you did."

He dropped his head and gazed at the lightly swirling sands between their feet. An orange glow was starting to seep across the ground -- the suns were starting to drop as night crept closer.

He looked up at her. "I can't pretend not to hate the guy, Rey. I just can't. Not with everything he did."

"I know what he did. We all do. But he also saved me, Finn. He brought me back. You know this, you -- you felt me go!"

Finn's pulse startled as he remembered the moment. Cold air blowing itself over his skin, through his bones and across his soul as he felt Rey die.

"And then I came back, but only because of him. _Only because of him_ ," she repeated. "The war was already won. He didn't need to do it, but he did. And now I can't even--"

She turned swiftly, staring off into the distance.

Finn ran his hands over his face and then put one palm on her shoulder. He felt her tense, and then settle.

"Come on," he said softly. "Let's not do this now. Apart from anything else, the suns are setting and we have no idea how much further we need to walk."

She faced him, brushing a tear from her eye with the heel of her hand, and nodded. "I know it's hard for you to understand, Finn."

"You don't have to--"

His words were interrupted by R2- D2, who whirred happily past and ahead of them, before disappearing very quickly over a rolling dune that blended seamlessly into the landscape.

"Artoo!" Rey yelled, and they ran ahead to see where he'd gone.

The few strides they took opened up a view of a small dune just to their right, down which Artoo was gliding serenely. Just a little further along from where the ground levelled out was an old ramshackle hut. Torn fabric at the windows rippled in the breeze, and several pieces of what looked like farming equipment rusted up against the walls, half-covered in drifts of sand.

Rey and Finn looked at each other before hurrying down the small dune in slipping, sliding movements. R2-D2 had trundled over to the front door of the hut. It gaped open, the old door swung off its hinges at some point and now lying just to the right of the opening, silted with sand and grit. The droid beeped happily, bouncing left and right on his legs.

Rey unwound her wrap from around her face and stuffed it into her bag. "This is it," she said breathlessly.

Finn had already scanned the area around the hut and between the rocks beyond it, looking for any signs of life. There appeared to be none. He looked at her as she pulled a wisp of hair away from her face and walked towards the doorway. R2-D2 had already rolled through the entrance, his beeps echoing around the worn stone walls and out into the sandy air.

The inside of the hut didn't look much better. Sand had blown in through the doorways and the window openings -- presumably for years now. Drifts of it lay in various corners, half-hiding broken furniture and the bases of supporting pillars.

"OK," Finn said, hands on hips. "Where do we start?"

~

Some time later, the suns had set and the temperature had dropped considerably. Their bones aching, Finn and Rey sat down on the floor of the hut in a space they had cleared among the sand. Rey had built a small fire with some pieces of wood they'd found that looked like they might once have been a chair.

Finn opened the second of his bags and passed her another bottle of water. "You hungry?"

She nodded as she took several swallows. He passed her a package of bread and she began to eat, in between more slugs of water.

"Are you cold?"

"I'm OK," she said.

They'd found a couple of old raggy blankets in a chest in the second room, and after they'd shook them clean of sand outside, they'd proved still very warm and functional.

Finn looked around. They had focused their attention on the obvious places first -- chests, boxes, shelves. But nothing. R2-D2 hadn't known where the book might be, he just seemed thrilled about remembering where the hut was, and to be participating in an expedition back to one of his old haunts.

Finn brushed down the surface of the droid with his hands. "Can't imagine a place like this is any good for a droid in the long term," he said. "Look at all this sand that's getting into his joints."

"Maybe we should take him back to the Falcon," Rey suggested.

R2-D2 responded by turning his head all the way around and emitting a string of low-sounding buzzes.

"That's a no," Finn laughed. "So, where next? There could be some outbuildings but we can't check for them until it's light again."

Rey looked around. "Maybe there's a hidden storage area somewhere, beneath the floor or behind something."

"Could be. I'll take a look." He put his own water bottle back in the bag and made to get up.

"Finn, about earlier..."

He paused. "Rey, it's OK. I don't... I just don't want to cause you any more pain. I know I might feel differently about this than you do, and I don't want to say too much because you've been through enough. But that's exactly why all of this worries me."

"This? Me having hope, you mean?"

He settled back down and crossed his legs, his arms draping forward over his knees. "Hope?"

"Yes. That's what this is for me. I'm hoping I can find a way to..." she gestured vaguely with the remaining piece of bread in her hand, "...to speak to him."

Finn couldn't ignore the slight break in her voice as she said the words. He took a deep breath. "And that's all you want, to speak to him again?"

She nodded, the beginning of tears glistening in her eyes above the firelight. "I want to thank him for coming back for me. I want to say sorry. I want to--"

"You want to say sorry?" Finn was dumbfounded but tried to keep his voice even. "For what?"

"For taking his life force from him."

"But you didn't choose to do that, Rey! He did!"

"Did he? Do you think Ben knew he was going to die? Because he would have lived if he hadn't done what he did. He would have survived."

Finn nodded, trying to remain calm. "OK, I see that. I understand that if he hadn't tried to save you then he'd still be here and you wouldn't. That's one thing I can count for him. If it wasn't for him, then you'd -- you would be dead. I'll admit that."

"But?" she asked.

"But everything else he did? I can't forget that. None of us can. You haven't, have you?"

"Of course I haven't! But it doesn't mean I can't be sad that he died to save me." She sighed. "Ben and I, we... I don't know how to explain it."

"The dyad, I get it."

"Yes. Finn, I felt like part of me disappeared when he died. And I think he felt the same way when I was dead. If I can find a way to speak to him, with the Force, somehow..." She shrugged. "I don't know. I think if I can speak to him, if I can hear him, then perhaps I can find my hope again."

Finn rubbed the back of his neck. "Rey, I've got to be honest. I don't know if I'll ever understand what he means to you. Yes, he saved you, and that's something I'll be grateful for -- always. But to me he's Ren. He was always Ren. I never knew him as anything else."

She sniffed, nodding. "I understand that."

They were silent for a few moments. A light wind whistled around the outside of the hut as the fire crackled gently between them. Finn looked up as R2-D2 whirred closer towards them, sounding a low and slightly mournful series of beeps.

"He doesn't like it when we're sad," Rey said.

Finn smiled. "It's OK, big guy. We're good." He patted the droid and a thin curtain of sand fell out from beneath his surface dome. "This is getting worse. You see a brush anywhere, Rey?"

He got up and went over to a set of cupboards that might once have been a food preparation area.

"I think I saw one in the corner?" She pointed.

Finn walked over to where she was indicating, stumbling on another pile of broken-down wood. "Need a broom in here, or a shovel," he muttered.

He went to step around the debris, bracing his hand against a beam to his right, and as he did the entire beam broke in half, giving way beneath him. Finn stumbled and fell as part of the wall behind the beam collapsed, revealing a small dusty space that could have fit maybe two or three grown men at a push.

Rey leaped up, throwing the blanket behind her. She hurried over to Finn and helped him up, dusting him down as he wiped grit and sand from his face.

"I can't see anything, it's too dark," she said, peering into the newly revealed alcove. "Can you?"

Finn stepped forward, but the light from the fire was too dim to reach into the recess. "Artoo?" he called behind them. "Can you help us out?"

The droid whirred over to them and initiated his light beam, swivelling it until it settled on the dusty opening.

Rey looked at Finn. "I think this is it," she whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Jundland Wastes, Tatooine**

Rey moved forward, picking her way carefully through the rubble. R2-D2 beeped confidently, happy to be of help once again as he shone a light into the alcove they'd found hidden inside Obi-Wan Kenobi's derelict hut.

"Thanks, Artoo," Finn said, moving alongside Rey.

They stepped carefully inside the alcove, using the droid's light beam for guidance.

"Doesn't look like there's much here," Finn said.

Rey sighed. "No. Just more dust." She pushed a part of the broken beam with her foot, bracing herself against the wall as she did so.

"Here, I'll get it." Finn bent down and lifted the section out of the way, tossing it lightly to the side of the alcove.

"Oh!" Rey exclaimed.

"What is it? Something underneath?"

"A box," she said, her pulse racing.

Finn went to pick up the box but Rey held out her hand. "No, I can do it."

He stepped back as she brought it out of the alcove, and they returned to the campfire, R2-D2 trundling behind them.

"It's not that heavy," Rey said, looking it over once they'd sat down. "Doesn't look like it has a key. I guess I'll just--"

And she braced a hand against the top of the box and pulled. A gradual creak rose in crescendo until the top of the box splintered and came apart, lifting off in two separate sections.

"You OK?" Finn asked. "What do you see?" He got up and stood behind her, looking over her shoulder.

"Papers," she replied. She reached into the box and lifted them carefully out. "Quite a few of them."

She held them out to Finn, who took them and leafed through the first few. "Handwritten. Looks like some kind of diary? You think it was Kenobi's?"

"I suppose so. I don't know if he had family."

Finn shook his head. "What is it with the Jedi ending up living all alone in the middle of nowhere?"

Rey looked up at him, a dry expression on her face.

"Sorry. _Old_ Jedi. Not new Jedi. New Jedi are going to do things differently."

She smiled before turning her attention back to the box.

"Anything else in there?" he asked.

Rey scraped the bottom of the box with her fingers. She felt sand, a few smaller scraps of softened, torn paper and a piece of cold metal, which she drew out.

"What is that?" Finn asked, bending down to look at the small object. "The shape's kind of like that Upsilon shuttle Ren used to--" He went silent.

"I think it's an underwater breathing device," Rey said, turning it around in her hands. "I saw something similar once when I was searching for scrap on Jakku."

"Why would you need something like that on a planet like this? Everything here is bone dry and then some."

"I guess it was from another time. Maybe that's why Kenobi stored it away. He'd have no use for it here."

Finn sat down next to Rey, smoothing the diary papers with his fingers before putting them in one of the bags. "Nothing else in there?" He watched as she felt around inside the box one more time.

Her shoulders sank. "No."

"Well... There could still be some outbuildings. It could be there. We'll check when the suns are up. Or maybe Kenobi gave the book to someone else, or lost it."

"A Jedi Master wouldn't lose a sacred text," Rey said, handing Finn the box and picking at the sole of her boot despondently.

Finn tilted the box to look inside it, and they both heard a soft thunk. They looked at each other.

He angled the box up further so that R2-D2's light beam hit the inside of it. In one corner of the base, just visible, was a small hole.

"No, they'd never lose anything," he muttered, "because a Jedi's always full of tricks."

Finn poked his little finger into the hole and pulled. The bottom of the box lifted upwards, revealing a hidden space. He looked up at Rey.

"Here's your book."

She took the box back from him and stared at the aged volume sitting inside the base of it. That same warm breath -- the one she'd felt when Finn and Rose first told her about the book -- skittered across the back of her neck once more.

Rey lifted the book carefully and placed it on her lap, setting the box aside. She rested her palm on the soft leather cover and closed her eyes. A prickling sensation rose in her fingertips; a sense of familiarity for something she'd never laid eyes on before.

"This is it," she said quietly.

Finn watched her, her shoulders rising and falling as she breathed, her lips lifting in a gentle, hopeful smile. He didn't know how to feel. Pleased that they'd found the book, curious about what it could contain, wary of where the contents might lead them. Where it could lead Rey.

He put an arm around her shoulder. "You're going to need a little more light if you're going to read all that tonight."

She opened her eyes, seemingly cheered by his joke, and he got up to add some more of the broken wood to the fire. R2-D2 trundled over to Rey, directing his light beam directly down on to the book.

"Thank you," she whispered softly to the droid as she lifted the cover.

~

Several hours later, Finn opened his eyes. He stretched, working out a kink in his neck as he sat up from the sandy floor, one of the blankets dropping away from his shoulders. Small streams of weak light fell through the window openings as the first of the twin suns approached the dawn.

Rey was pacing the floor in front of him. She glanced over. "Hey, you're up."

"For what good it's done me," he replied. "Remind me not to sleep on this floor again."

"You won't need to," Rey said, her energy palpable in the air.

"You found something in the book?"

"Yes. But there's something else we need."

Finn bent down to gather their bags, pouring the last of the water on to the burning embers of the campfire. "OK. So where we headed this time?"

He followed Rey to the doorway, R2-D2 already ahead of them, and the trio emerged into the first weak yellow light of the day.

"Not far," she said. "Look, I found a path to the right of the hut that will take us back up the dune. It's more gradual and will be easier for Artoo."

"Have you slept at all?" Finn asked as they trudged their way back up the softly shifting sands.

"No. I will. But not yet."

"Get some rest on the Falcon, Rey. You need it."

"We're not going back to the Falcon. Not yet, anyway."

"But I thought you said--"

"We need to go to the Skywalker homestead, Finn."

He stopped. "The what--?"

"Luke's childhood home. It's where I buried the lightsabers. I need one of them back."

"Hold on, hold on." He took a few steps forward and put a hand on her arm. "Why do you need a saber? You have your own." He gestured towards it, hanging from a loop on Rey's belt.

She brushed the hair from her eyes. The air was warming and the breeze was picking up with it. "For the kyber crystal inside it. It's the last lightsaber Ben fought with before he died -- his grandfather's one. The crystals concentrate the light side of the Force, Finn. It might connect to him. Judging by what the book says, if I can get it back and hold it while I try to find him..." She took a deep breath. "If he's still out there somewhere, then it might just give me the extra power I need to reach him."

Finn took all this in and nodded. "OK. The Skywalker lightsaber. That... makes sense."

Rey turned and continued up the dune, her pace quickening. R2-D2 had already reached the summit and was bouncing from leg to leg, emitting encouraging beeps.

Finn caught up to her just as she reached the crest. "Which way from here?" he asked.

"Back past the Falcon. We can stop and get water, give Artoo a brush-down and a bit of downtime."

R2-D2's beeps increased in volume and effusiveness, suggesting he was very much offended by the idea of needing a rest.

Finn looked his friend in the eye and nodded firmly, though inside his confidence was wavering. "You know, there's something familiar about you, me and a droid running around on a hot desert planet, looking for something." He was pleased to see her smile. "Let's do it."

~

**The Vergence, deep beneath Exegol**

Ben Solo reached the rocky outcrop that marked the furthest point he could normally see. He'd been walking for a while now. So much of his time had been spent sitting by the boulders where the strange silvery ferns grew, that he could trace the outline of the landscape before him without even opening his eyes.

Now he'd reached the limit of that aspect, and he was in unfamiliar territory.

Shortly before falling into an exhausted slumber after his grandfather's visit, he had decided to get moving. He'd done nothing but sit and think since he'd been in this place. But if he was going to be faced with the choice of leaving it, he felt he should at least explore.

Not that staying here would be a preferential choice for most. This never-ending, dim, wet darkness. Nobody would choose to spend eternity in this space of their own free will, but Ben was accepting of the fact that it could -- maybe should -- be his destiny. And yet if Rey came, as his grandfather said she would, Ben had started to think he might agree to leave after all.

There was another destiny he could fulfil, if he returned to life. One more thing he could do to atone for the sins of Kylo Ren. And he knew he had the strength to do it this time.

He caught several more drops of the metallic water that had gathered on the rock on which he rested, and pressed it into his mouth. He didn't know which way he was heading -- if this path was only taking him deeper inside this divergence. But something told him there might be an answer at the end of this path.

And so he pressed on, limping slightly as he moved in the grim half-light, past the boulders and the rocky outcrops, and on towards something that he felt might be his fate.


	8. Chapter 8

**Lars/Skywalker Homestead, Tatooine**

Rey paced around on the sand outside the desolate, dome-shaped house as she tried to recall the exact location where she'd buried the lightsabers.

Finn squinted his eyes against the fast-rising sunlight. "So this is where Luke Skywalker grew up, huh?"

"Yep."

"Do you think he always knew there was something special about him? Before he became a Jedi?"

"I think so. I don't think it's something that stays hidden. You have a sense that there's something different, even if you don't know what it is."

Finn nodded as he looked around. _Should he say it?_ "Rey, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. About... me. About the Force."

"What is it?" she asked distractedly, dropping down to her haunches and placing her hands on the ground.

Finn took a breath. "I think I can sense it. Or sense something. I don't know -- sometimes I can feel things or hear things. Like when I felt what happened to you. As a kid I always thought it was something to do with my imagination, but since I met you, I... I've been thinking it could be something else."

She looked up and came over to him. "The Force?"

"Yeah, I -- yeah." He scratched his head. "Is that crazy?"

She smiled. "No. Not at all. I had wondered."

"You did?"

"Yes. The more you and I got to know each other, the faster we seemed to connect. Even when we were apart. You've felt like family, Finn -- from the very beginning. I don't think that's just a coincidence."

He laughed, a wave of relaxation flowing through him, and pulled her into a hug. "Come here."

"Learning to use the Force is exciting," she said into his shoulder. "Hard, but exciting."

"Oh yeah? I'm not even sure I understand what it is yet. But the student's become the master now. I know you'll teach me everything I need to know."

"Me?" She leaned back and looked at him.

"Who else is there?" he said, quite honestly.

"I..."

She was speechless for a few moments. In the days since Exegol, she'd certainly felt she should be doing something more than just monitoring the various outreach programmes. There were others out there who could feel the Force, who sensed it but didn't know how to channel it -- people just like Finn. Wasn't it her duty to show them how?

The truth was, she didn't know if she was the only Jedi left, especially now that Luke was gone. He'd always been sure he was the last of them, but if there were still people who could sense the Force, didn't it mean they were capable of walking the Jedi path?

Finn realised that Rey had become lost in her thoughts. "Hey. We can talk about it another time."

She shook herself free of her introspections and looked at him. "Yes, we should."

"So you think you found the spot? Was it over here?" Finn walked over to where Rey had previously been standing.

She sighed, putting her hand to her head as she followed him. "I think so."

"Are you just trying to remember, or have you reached out for them, you know -- with your mind?"

"I was just trying to remember..."

She looked at the ground again and then lowered herself down, sitting cross-legged with her hands on her knees. Finn took a step back.

Rey closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. She let her mind go blank, asked her thoughts to quieten. It seemed harder than it used to be... She reached out into the Force, asking it to show her the lightsabers. Remembering the weight and feel of them, the roughness of the cloth in which she had wrapped them.

_Show me the way..._

She felt a sudden jolt. It wasn't a threatening feeling, but a sensation of falling and then being caught.

"They're right here," she whispered.

Finn wanted to ask if she could reach them but he didn't want to speak, didn't want to disturb her.

"Yes, I can," she answered out loud, and he startled. The Force was going to take some getting used to.

He watched as she reached a hand out before her and placed it on the sand. Her brow furrowed in concentration and he felt a slight tremor in the earth beneath them. After a few seconds she leant further forward and placed her other hand on the ground too.

Several more seconds went by. Another tremor -- a little stronger -- and then it subsided.

After that: nothing.

"Rey?" he asked quietly.

"I can't. I can't reach them." She opened her eyes and sighed. "Just give me a minute."

He suddenly realised how tired she looked. "What can I do?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'll try again. I know they're here, I can sense them. I just can't..."

"Rey, you're exhausted. Let me help you. Can we dig for them? How far beneath the surface are they?"

She began to shake her head and then stopped. "Yes." She looked up at him. "Yes, you _can_ help me."

"OK. I'll check the house, there's gotta be something we can use in there."

"No. We can't dig for them. They're too deep."

"Then--?"

"I need you to help me reach out for them."

He felt himself frown. "You want me to... use the Force?"

She nodded. "Sit with me," she said, and he did.

She took his hand. It felt small in his palm.

"What do I do?" he asked nervously.

"Close your eyes. Try to still your thoughts. See what you can sense, running beneath everything else."

He did as she said, and after a minute or two, he began to feel a pulse of energy in the background of his thoughts. He felt it on his skin, in the air that surrounded them, in the firmness of the ground on which they sat, and -- strongest of all -- in the grip of her hand in his.

With her free hand, Rey reached out and touched the ground before them. Another tremor rippled through the sand, and Finn felt a swell of energy push up from the base of his spine, like a cold shiver but in a strange and powerful way.

"Breathe," Rey whispered, and he realized he'd been holding his breath almost the whole time. He released it in a slow, gentle exhalation, and just before he needed to take a new breath he heard the soft whooshing of sand moving around them.

Then silence.

Finn opened his eyes and looked at Rey. She was already gazing at him, a smile on her lips. "Thank you."

He didn't know what to say. "That was... Whoa. That was something else."

"That was the Force. You're stronger with it than you think, Finn."

He felt a grin spread across his face.

Rey turned her head and looked at the ground in front of them. "We did it," she said.

Lying just a short distance ahead of their crossed legs, the cloth wrinkled and pale from its time spent underground, was the bundle containing the Skywalker lightsabers.

~

**On board the Millennium Falcon, the Outer Rim**

They didn't speak much on the journey back to Ajan Kloss. Rey was exhausted, and Finn was adamant that she rest as soon as they got back to base. He'd promised to keep the lightsabers and the book safe while she slept.

"I know you don't want to," he'd said. "But look how tired you were out there. You've barely slept. You're running on empty, Rey."

She sighed. "You're right. Maybe it's why I couldn't reach as far into the Force as I needed to. I promise I'll rest when we get back."

The knowledge that she needed to gather her strength to reach back out into the Force for Ben, now that she had the Skywalker lightsaber, was left unspoken between them.

It was almost as though both Rey and Finn felt they couldn't talk about what might happen next. They'd found what they needed to on Tatooine. The next part was all down to Rey reaching out into the Force again, according to the sacred text Kenobi had kept hidden.

And Finn still felt conflicted about that. She'd been more animated this past day or two than she had been since before... Well, for a really long time. He was relieved to see glimpses of the old Rey again, but the fact that it was down to her growing hope of contacting Ren again was difficult for him to swallow. Finn's feelings constantly swung between wanting to help her with her quest, any way he could, and wanting her to move on from Ren's death.

He tried not to think about it too much as the Porgs chirped happily in their cockpit nest beside him. Considering the Force connection they'd made in order to lift the sabers from beneath the ground, he didn't know if she would now be able to sense his thoughts.

He knew he had a lot to learn about the Force, and it unnerved him and excited him in equal measure. Ultimately it was going to mean more time spent with Rey -- exploring and training and learning together -- and that thought was the best one he'd had for a long time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ajan Kloss**

Finn watched Rey carefully as they walked down the Falcon's exit ramp and on to the mossy ground outside the Resistance base. Any minute now he expected her to take off down the ridge where she spent her meditation time. But she was dead on her feet, even if she refused to see it.

He had picked up the bag containing Kenobi's diary, the Skywalker lightsabers and the Jedi text just as she was powering down the Falcon. It was only a matter of time before she realised that he was holding it, not her. And just that second, she did.

"I can take those," she said, reaching out for the bag.

"Nope. You're going to your quarters and you're going to rest. I'll get some food sent in for you."

"But--"

"No buts, Rey."

She frowned a little before giving in. Tiredness was etched in the shadows beneath her eyes and across the paleness of her skin. "OK, fine. Give the book and the papers to Rose. I want to know what she thinks, if they match up with anything else she's found." Rey stepped closer to him. "You keep those sabers close to you, Finn."

"I will. General's honour," he said with a smile, pressing a hand to his chest.

She nodded and headed off to her quarters. R2-D2 buzzed and blipped behind Finn as though he was pleased to see it.

"Come on, buddy, let's get you to engineering. Give you a little shine-up."

As the droid trundled along behind him, Finn spotted Jannah coming out of the comms room. "Hey," he called, raising a hand in greeting.

"What's up, where have you been?" she asked, coming to a stop before him, a smile on her face.

"Here and there, you know me."

She squinted an eye. "Mysterious. Well, I'm glad I caught you. I'm heading out for a while."

"Oh yeah?"

"Lando got some intelligence about several pockets of First Order defectors residing in the Mid Rim. We're leaving shortly."

Finn looked over her shoulder and saw Calrissian striding confidently out of the building, a deep blue cloak wafting behind him.

"Hey, kid," the older man drawled as he neared, clapping his hand on Finn's shoulder.

"Good to see you, Lando. You want to take the Falcon? Just needs a fuel-up if you do."

"Nah, we need something bigger if what I've heard is true. We could be looking at hundreds this time."

Jannah beamed a smile, almost bouncing on her heels. "Can you believe it?"

"That's great news. Keep me posted?" Finn said.

"Will do, son. Catch you in a few." Lando winked and he and Jannah continued on to the landing area.

Finn found it was times like this when it really hit home how much of a difference they were making. These ex-stormtroopers would be just like him and Jannah -- forced into servitude of the First Order through no will of their own, but every one of them bold enough to make their escape some way, somehow. He felt bolstered by the good news as he headed into the building.

After dropping R2-D2 off with Commander D'Acy for a technical work-up, he walked into the comms room. "Connix, what's new?" he asked.

The blonde lieutenant swivelled in her chair. "Hey. Things are good. We've already despatched some supply ships to Kashyyyk and Jannah's heading out to retrieve more defectors."

"Yeah, I heard," he said, settling into a chair next to her.

"What's in the bag?" she asked, looking down at the bulky satchel that had come to rest by his thigh.

"Oh, paperwork, you know... Stuff for Rose. Where is Rose, anyway?"

"Out in the treehouse," she replied.

"Since when are we calling it 'the treehouse'? It's not in a tree."

Connix shrugged. "I don't know. It always makes me think of a treehouse with all that wood and the views of the forest. Whenever I'm there I think we could be in Endor."

"Somewhere I've still gotta see. The Ewoks really as cuddly as they look?"

Connix snorted. "Try cuddling an Ewok when you get there and then come back and tell me how that went."

"Finn, bud!"

He turned to see Poe striding into the room. They embraced each other with matching claps on the back.

"How'd it go? Is Rey OK?"

"She's exhausted but she's gone for a rest."

Poe nodded. "Good. You should too. Catch up later?"

"Sure thing. See you, Connix."

Finn noted that, as the lieutenant said goodbye to him, her eyes didn't leave Poe even once.

~

"Rose, please tell me you've taken a break."

Rose leaned back in her chair and smiled as Finn walked on to the verandah. "Yes, General -- all breaks taken and accounted for."

"All right, we don't have a problem then."

"How did it go?" she asked, sitting forward eagerly as he sat and relayed to her the events on Tatooine.

He pulled the sacred text out of his bag and laid it on the table in front of her. "Rey wants you to look at this, see what you can learn from it. She spent all night reading what she could, but it was difficult without Beaumont there to help her and the light wasn't exactly great."

Rose nodded as she drew the old book towards her.

"There's also these papers. Looks like a diary of some sort, we're guessing written by Obi-Wan Kenobi. It's probably nothing that'll help for what Rey--" He paused. "For what she wants to do. But I thought you'd want to take a look and add them to the masses."

"Got it," Rose replied. "That's interesting. I couldn't get a good comm link with Coruscant, so I asked Beaumont about Kenobi while you were gone. There's a lot of history there. Paige and I heard a few stories about the Empire and the Jedi Knights when we were kids. We always wondered if they were true or just embellished folk tales, but it sounds like it really all was true -- and then some."

Finn left shortly afterwards, leaving Rose to get back to her work. As he entered the quarters building to head for his room, and a welcome shower and change of clothes, he bumped right into Beaumont himself.

"Hey, Rose has some new texts to look over and she might need your help."

The historian nodded enthusiastically. "Got it. I'll head over now. Working on the aviation side of things was fun for a while but, Finn, my friend -- I really, really miss books."

Finn smiled. "You'll like what she's got for you to look at, then."

~

Rey finished running a brush through her wet hair and lay down on the bed. Bone weary and exhausted, she wondered if she'd gone too far beyond sleep. What if it was evasive, if she'd played too much of a risk by resisting it for too long? She would require strength to reach out into the Force again. She needed rest.

Her eyes drifted shut. They had the book. And the lightsaber. According to what she'd managed to decipher from the text, it might be enough.

_Ben..._

His name sighed through her mind as she closed her eyes and felt herself sink into oblivion.

_Please be there... Please be there this time._

~

**The Vergence**

Ben Solo finally allowed himself to stop walking. How far he'd travelled, he didn't know. How many minutes had gone by, he had no idea. All he knew was that the landscape around him had started to change.

The air back by the rocks where he'd spent so much time had been metallic in scent, and the water had tasted much the same. Boulders and rockfaces continued to dominate. The mysterious fern still grew in outcrops here and there, but it was no longer silver and purple. Instead it was silver and green, and it almost glowed in the darkness.

The air no longer tasted and smelled of metal. It felt slightly rough, as though fine, rough particles were dispersed through it. When he pressed his hand to the rocks here, it came away wet again. But here the water tasted salty, and there was a hint of brine in the air.

Ben sat down on the ground, stretching his damaged leg carefully out in front of him. He didn't know what these changes could mean. All he knew was that a shift had occurred. And so he continued to wait.

If -- when -- she called to him, he was ready to answer.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ajan Kloss**

Rey opened her eyes. She blinked and looked at the chest across from her, where her bag and clothing from yesterday lay discarded.

She sat up.

The book. The lightsaber.

_Ben._

Dressing hastily, she drained the remains of a bottle of water before flying out of her room.

"Where's Finn?" she asked Wrobie Tyce, the first person she saw.

The pilot blinked, startled by Rey's agitated manner. "With Rose, I think. Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," Rey called behind her as she ran out of the quarters building and towards the admin base. She took the steps up to the verandah in one leap.

"Rose!"

Rey sighed in relief as she saw her friend standing by a rack of shelves that were covered in papers and books.

"Hey. Are you all right?" Rose asked, a worried frown creasing her brow.

"Fine," Rey answered quickly. She'd be relieved when people finally stopped asking her that question.

"Where's Finn?"

Rose pointed behind her. "He's right there."

Rey spun around and saw Finn coming up the verandah steps behind her. Immediately her eyes went to the satchel he wore.

"Don't worry," he said, patting it confidently. "They're safe and sound. Did you sleep?"

Relief coursed through her body as he handed her the satchel. "Yes. Thank you."

He nodded. "Glad to hear it."

"The book -- did you get anywhere with it?" she asked, looking at Rose.

"Not much further than you did, I think," Rose said. "Beaumont wants to take another look this morning. He said he might need to compare it with one of the other texts, if that's all right by you?" She knew Rey was protective of the sacred Jedi texts, as she should be.

Rey nodded her permission. "They're in my room. Tell him to take whatever he needs."

"Do you need the book now?" Rose asked. "It's right here," she said, indicating a locked chest beneath her desk.

"No. I have what I need."

Finn stepped closer. "Do you want company while you do this?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head. "No. I'll be fine."

He nodded solemnly. "OK. We're right here. All you have to do is call."

"Thank you." Rey embraced him and nodded at Rose, who looked nervous, before leaving the admin base and heading down the ridge to the quiet grassy plain below.

~

Rose and Finn exchanged glances of concern.

"Are we OK with this?" she asked hesitantly.

"I guess we have to be. We can't stop her using the Force, which is all this really is. I know how much it meant to her when she spoke to Luke through it, before Exegol. Maybe it's a Jedi thing."

Rose nodded. "Do you think it will work?"

"Only time can tell us that," Finn said, looking out on to the green vista beyond the treehouse.

"Tell us what?" Beaumont Kin walked up the verandah steps, rubbing his hands in anticipation of a new day's work.

"If Rey's going to be able to contact Ren," Finn said bluntly.

Beaumont raised his eyebrows. "Ah. Well, from what I can tell, as long as she's feeling strong enough then there's no reason why it wouldn't."

A few moments of silence passed as he looked between them. "And... I'm guessing that's not the popular vote for the outcome of this particular experiment?" he asked tentatively.

Finn didn't reply but put both hands behind his head, stretching his back and shoulders as he walked over to the open side of the treehouse.

Beaumont looked at Rose, who shrugged in a way that suggested she was out of things to say. "Well then. Back to work?" he said, and Rose nodded, unlocking the chest that contained the sacred text.

~

Rey sat down on a patch of grass that was warm from the sun, but still slightly damp with forest dew. She pulled the satchel open and took out Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, feeling the cool weight of it in her palms.

"OK," she murmured to herself, her voice slightly unsteady. "Let's try this again."

Once more she settled her thoughts and slowed her breathing as her eyes drifted shut. Minutes passed as her energy slowed to match the pulse of the Force in the air around her. She felt it drifting warmly from the sunlight rising over the trees, the soothing sounds of it in the breeze. She swallowed nervously.

_Ben..._

She took a few more breaths, carefully keeping them even and slow. "Ben," she whispered, out loud this time.

A rustle of leaves in the trees. The smooth trickle of water in the river beyond the forest.

"Be with me, Ben."

And then--

"I'm here."

A swell of emotion almost overtook her, but she focused on her breathing to keep the connection stable. "B-Ben?"

"I'm with you, Rey." His voice was distant. It sounded roughened, deep.

"Ben, I..."

In the shock of finally hearing him after all this time, words deserted her.

"Are you safe?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm in the forests of Ajan Kloss. Ben, what you did--"

"It's OK."

"But you--" She felt tears beginning to seep slowly through her eyelashes.

"I know."

"Did you know you were going to go?"

"I didn't think about it. It didn't matter."

"But I wish it had."

He didn't say anything, but she could hear him breathing.

"I wish you could have stayed," she said. "That you weren't gone."

"I don't think..."

"Are you there?" she asked, after a couple of seconds of silence, worry spiking inside her.

"Rey, I don't think that I am. Gone, I mean."

She could feel her heartbeat in the tips of her fingers. "I don't understand. You..." She took a shaky breath. "You died."

"I thought that too."

"Then-- What happened?"

"I can't explain it. I don't know enough."

"Ben, when I talked to Leia about you..." She heard him take a shaky breath. "After Crait, she told me nobody's ever really gone. I thought she meant using a Force connection. The way it allows people to have time together. Like when I saw Luke before Exegol."

"Yes. I saw my father on Kef Bir, after--"

"Don't..." She shook her head almost imperceptibly. "Ben, if you're not really gone then do you know where you are?"

There was silence for a few moments.

"Ben?"

"Yes, I do."

A warm shiver ran through her.

"I know where I am. I didn't at first, but... Rey, my grandfather visited me here."

The lightsaber suddenly felt warm in Rey's hands. Unconsciously, her finger drifted over to the ignition button.

"Anakin Skywalker...?" she murmured.

"Yes. It must have happened the same way Luke visited you. He talked to me. He told me where I am."

Rey's breath shook as it left her lips. "Where? Ben, where are you?"

"I'm in the World Between Worlds," he said.

In that moment, visions of the sacred Jedi texts flittered through Rey's mind. A chain of worlds. A pathway. A map, long hidden...

"Yes," Ben said.

"You see it too?" she murmured.

"I do."

"Ben, I--" She didn't know how to say it.

"Rey?"

"I think I might know how to find you."

"You do," he said, his voice fainter this time. "He... you would."

"Ben? I can't hear you."

"I... for you... Rey..."

"No!" she said louder, his voice drifting further away. "Ben?"

She heard him say her name one more time, from very far away, and then the sounds of the forest filled her ears once more.

Rey opened her eyes and looked down at her hands as they gripped on to the lightsaber. They were shaking. Her breath coming fast now, she stumbled up off the ground, grabbed the bag that still contained Leia's lightsaber and ran up to the ridge.

Rose and Beaumont looked up sharply when she burst into the admin base.

"Did you get the other books from my room?"

"Some of them," Beaumont replied. "Rose said you'd allowed it."

"Yes, that's fine," she said hastily. "I need them."

"Well, we were just--"

"It can wait. I need the one that mentions the Chain Worlds Theorem."

Beaumont looked down at the two books in front of him. "We were just looking at it."

"Did you find something new?" Rey rushed over and looked at the text from the opposite side of the desk.

"We think so. There's a page here in the Kenobi book that looks oddly similar to something in the Chain Worlds text," Rose said, pointing down at an aged ink sketch of a map.

"What is it?"

"An illustration -- some sort of symbol. See here?" Rose pointed at a small part of the map, where somebody from many years ago had inked a small design that looked like it had only been half finished.

"Where else does it appear?"

"In the book about the Chain Worlds Theorem," Beaumont confirmed. "It looks like the other half of the same symbol."

"What does it mean?"

"Rey, listen..."

"What does it mean?" she repeated.

"We think it might indicate a portal. A way to enter and exit the Chain Worlds. But this is just guesswork," he cautioned. "There are still some pages that make very little sense to us."

"Show them to me. Please," Rey asked.

Beaumont carefully leafed through the Kenobi text before settling on a page of mysteriously inscripted handwriting. He turned the book around to face Rey.

Her eyes ran over the page but nothing on it made sense to her -- it wasn't a language or script she'd seen in any of the other texts. She was about to ask them to keep working on it when Rose tilted her head to the side and frowned.

"What is it?" Beaumont asked, noticing her puzzlement.

"It looks different when it's upside down."

"How?"

"Like it's become clearer. Doesn't it look more like the handwriting in the Chain Worlds text when you look at it this way?" she said.

Beaumont narrowed his eyes and looked at the page. Rey watched both of them carefully.

"Now you mention it..." he began.

"Wait," Rose said, jumping up from her chair. She hurried over to the back of the room and began to rummage through some boxes in which she was depositing scrap and general debris from the damaged chests.

"What is it?" Rey asked, barely able to contain her anticipation. Beaumont, too, seemed on edge at the prospect of a development.

"Got it!"

They watched as Rose hurried back to the desk, a broken piece of mirror held carefully in her hand. Taking a breath, she gently placed the glass lengthways along the middle fold of the book and tilted it to reflect the unscripted page. "There."

"Oh, Rose..." Beaumont whispered in awe. "Well done!"

"What is it? It still doesn't make sense to me," Rey said.

"Come round this side. It only becomes clear when you look at it from the other direction, reflected in the mirror."

She did as Rose suggested and looked down at the page from behind their shoulders. On it was an ancient description of a portal that led into the World Between Worlds.

"This is why I love research," Beaumont said, smiling and shaking his head. "You can look at a book that was written hundreds of years ago and it won't make sense, but what you're looking for is just sitting there the whole time, revealed only when you look at it through a mirror."

A tremor ran through Rey and she stood up straight.

Rose placed the broken piece of glass carefully down on the desk. "Rey? What is it?"

"A mirror..." Rey murmured. She looked down at the book and at the lightsaber, still in her hands. "I know how to find the portal."


	11. Chapter 11

**Ajan Kloss**

"You what?" Beaumont said in astonishment.

"I think I know where the portal is," said Rey.

"How can you--?" Rose began.

"That symbol. The one that's split in half across the two books. I've seen it before."

"Where?"

"The first Jedi Temple."

"On Ahch-To?" Rose said quietly. Beaumont looked up at her; she was standing rigid beside the desk.

Rey nodded. "Yes. The ancient seal is carved into a cave on the island there. It's where Luke gave me my first lesson in the Force."

"Wow, I..." Beaumont's words failed him as he put his hands to his forehead and stared down at the book.

"So what will you do?" Rose asked.

"I'm going to go and find him."

"Rey, do you think that's wise?" Beaumont asked. "I mean, you could be right -- this could be the portal, he could be there. But he's..."

"He's what?" Rey looked at him.

Rose put her hand on Beaumont's shoulder. "She can't not do it, Beaumont."

Rey gazed at her friend, nervous and thankful in equal measure.

Rose continued, "If I found out my sister was there, and I could reach her, I would. There's no situation in which I wouldn't."

"That's not comparable!" Beaumont exclaimed. "Paige was a freedom fighter and your only remaining family. This guy, he's..." He gestured emptily with both hands, not knowing how to say it. "Look, if I'd known we were going to uncover this then I have to admit I don't know if I would have told you, Rey."

"Well, it's too late for that," she replied. "I have to try. He knows where he is, and we've discovered the portal that could lead me to him. I can't leave him there."

"Leave who where?" Finn asked as he walked up the verandah steps.

"Oh, you know, the World Between Worlds," Beaumont replied.

"And who's there?"

"Ren. I mean Solo. I mean Ren." Beaumont looked up at Rose and muttered, "Seriously, how are we meant to refer to him now?"

Finn looked at Rey. "You talked to him? It worked?"

Rey closed the book and gathered it up into her arms, placing the Skywalker lightsaber back into the satchel with Leia's one. "Yes, it did." She held herself for a second, knowing the fire her next words were going to ignite. "He's not dead, Finn."

"He's not-- _What?_ "

"He's stuck in the World Between Worlds. It means he hasn't died. And we've found a way to get there."

"Oh great," Beaumont murmured, staring down at the desk to avoid Finn's accusatory gaze.

"To do what?" Finn asked, his voice rising.

"To bring him back," Rey answered quickly. "I can bring him back."

Finn's hands rose to his head. "Rey, why?"

"Because I need to," she interrupted, heading for the steps and brushing past Finn as she went.

"He's a murderer! He led the First Order against us all!"

"Stop telling me things as though I wasn't there to see them!" she yelled, swirling around to face Finn as he stormed down the steps behind her. "I know what he did!"

"Then why would you want to bring him back?"

Beaumont and Rose walked gingerly out of the admin base to watch the discussion. Several other Resistance members were raising their heads at the sound of heated voices.

"Because I have to."

"Why? Why do you have to? He almost destroyed us all."

"No, _Palpatine_ almost destroyed us all. Ben was just his instrument."

"And that excuses all his actions as Supreme Leader? All the decisions he made, the crimes he committed?"

"Of course not! He knows what he did and he turned when it really mattered. Finn, I don't know that I could have beat Palpatine if Ben hadn't come for me. I certainly would not have lived," she said through gritted teeth.

Finn followed her as she hurried towards the quarters building. "And what will this accomplish? Huh, Rey?" he called from behind her. "Are you going to bring him back here? Introduce him to your friends, get him a job in maintenance?"

Several more people had emerged from the buildings and the forest to witness the argument. Poe came out of the comms room, bracing the door open with his arm. "Guys? What's going on?"

Rey ignored him. "I'm getting my things and going to Ahch-To, Finn. You can't stop me and you won't."

She rushed to the doorway of the quarters building and bumped straight into Chewbacca, who had returned from Kashyyyk earlier that morning.

"Move!"

Chewie responded with a quizzical howl, surprised by Rey's hostility.

"Rey, you cannot do this," Finn stated authoritatively as he caught up to her by the doorway. "You have to leave him there."

Poe came up beside them. "What's this all about?"

Finn turned to him, his breathing heavy. "Ren. Not only did she talk to him, but it turns out he's not dead. He's in some portal and she's going to get him."

Poe's eyes flared. "What?"

"Don't you start," Rey said to him. "Chewie, move or I'll move you myself!"

But the Wookiee was blocking the doorway and at the mention of Ben Solo, a low moan sounded from his lips.

Rey looked up. "No. He's not dead," she confirmed in a quieter voice.

Poe glanced around, aware of all the watching faces and curious ears surrounding them. "Ren isn't dead?" he repeated.

"No," Finn replied angrily. "I think that's pretty clear now."

"Rey, what are you going to accomplish by doing this?" Poe asked, putting a hand on her arm and attempting to rationalise the situation.

"I'm going to bring him back."

"Yeah, I got that part. And then what?"

"I..." She groaned in frustration. "I'll work that out afterwards."

"Oh, good," Finn interjected. "Because it'd be handy to have a plan laid out for the return of the Final Order's Supreme Leader."

"That's not who he is any more!" Rey replied. "He's Ben Solo."

Chewie murmured quietly.

Rey glanced at Poe, and then Finn, with a sharp look in her eye. "He's Leia's son. And I'm bringing him back."

Finn threw his hands up in the air and spun on his heels, walking several paces away from the quarters building.

Connix poked her head out of the cooms room doorway. "Poe, Finn? I've got a holo from Jannah. Things have gone pear-shaped in the Mid Rim. They need help."

"Go take it, buddy," Poe said to Finn. "Cool off a minute."

For a lack of anything else to do in that moment, Finn strode up to the comms room and stormed through the doorway to take the communication.

Poe turned back to Rey, his voice even. "I accept he's Leia's son, Rey. I get that. And I know you two share something that's unexplainable. But to hundreds of thousands of people out there -- out here," he said, gesturing to the people around them, "-- to them he's Kylo Ren. A killer. A force for evil. The dark side. How are we going to explain it if you bring him back?"

"I don't have to explain myself to anybody."

"Maybe not. But that won't stop them asking," Poe said meaningfully. "Big picture here, Rey. What will get put into motion by you doing this? We're starting to rebuild, to reconnect -- to experience life without the constant threat of destruction. If it gets out that Ren has returned -- and it will -- then what happens next?"

"You can ask him that yourself when I bring him back," Rey muttered, as she pushed past Chewie into the quarters building to prepare her things.

Poe looked up at the Wookiee. "Damn it, Chewie. What now?"

Chewbacca murmured and growled for a minute or two.

Poe nodded. "I know you knew him for who he was before. I think you're the only person left who did." He put a consoling hand on the Wookiee's arm. "What's your take on this?"

After a thoughtful moment, Chewie responded.

"OK," Poe said, thinking quickly. "Go with her, then. I trust you -- we all do."

~

By the time Rey re-emerged from the quarters building and hurried out to the landing zone, Chewbacca and Poe were already waiting by the Falcon. They'd dismissed everyone else from the area, but that hadn't stopped eyes and ears from peeking amongst the surrounding bushes and trees.

Rey glanced at them quickly before heading for the up-ramp.

"Rey, wait a minute," Poe said.

"Why?" she bit out. "So you can give me a General's order to stand down?"

"No. I don't see any event in which that would work, and I understand that you need to do this. But I'm making it clear to you now that there will be a contingency plan in place if he's on this ship when you come back. You also need to know that Finn and some of the others are heading to the Mid Rim to help out Jannah and Lando. There's a trooper uprising, bigger than they expected."

Rey waited, her hands gripping her bags.

"They found the defectors Lando had heard about, but they also found people who still consider themselves troopers, who still support the Final Order and are willing to fight for it. If you bring back Ren then make no mistake -- word will get out. They'll assume there's a resurgence, that he's back to try and restore power and control. We're going to have to make it clear that's not the case."

Rey nodded, wanting to get on her way. "Fine. Anything else?"

"Chewie's going with you."

"I don't need help," she interrupted.

"I'm sure you don't," Poe said firmly. "But apart from you, he's the only one left who knows Ren as Solo. If you do find him then I need Chewie there with you. I trust his judgement on whether this could be a dangerous move or not."

Chewie nodded solemnly as he put a comforting paw on Rey's shoulder. The gesture sent emotion running through her. It made her feel like there was one person who might just be on her side in this; might understand how torn she was.

"OK," she muttered quietly, tears threatening.

"If and when you do find him, Chewie will be responsible for detaining him. There's no discussion on that."

" _Detaining_...?" she repeated, uncomprehendingly.

"Rey, the man can't just stroll back in here like it's no big deal. We're talking about the Supreme Leader here. I will not budge on this."

"Fine," she bit out. "Now can we please go?"

She moved past them and disappeared up into the Falcon.

Poe looked up at Chewbacca and clapped an encouraging hand on his forearm. "I trust you, bud. You sure you're good with this?"

Chewie nodded firmly, a solid but slightly emotional howl rippling from his lips.

"Protect our girl," Poe murmured. "And may the Force be with you."


	12. Chapter 12

**The Vergence**

Ben Solo had moved a little further along.

Behind a particularly wet group of rocks -- so damp they were growing some sort of moss -- he came face to face with a solid wall. It didn't look like rock, but it was hard as ice and yet didn't feel as cold.

He ran his good hand over it. It felt slick, as smooth as glass. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against it. He could hear his own breath and just about make out the foggy imprint it left on the surface.

 _This is not the same place as before_ , he thought to himself.

As he did, he thought he heard the crash of water in the distance, the briny smell of the sea.

 _This is where she will find you_ , a voice whispered. The voice of his grandfather.

Ben swallowed nervously as he stepped back from the wall. He decided to rest, and lowered himself to the ground next to the mossy rocks. It was now only a matter of time.

~

**Temple Island, Ahch-To**

Rey's hand was shaking as she powered down the Falcon. Chewbacca looked at her, placing his paw on her shoulder. A comforting growl rolled warmly from his lips as she looked into his deep brown eyes.

She smiled at him, placing her hand on top of his. "I'm OK," she reassured him. "Are you?"

Chewie nodded, and they made their way out of the cockpit, Rey putting on a thick cloak to shield herself from the inclement weather. The ramp whirred down to the rocky ground and they exited the ship, both of them wearing bags of supplies and equipment.

"We'll have to swing ourselves down into the cave without landing in the lake," Rey had said as they'd made their approach to the island. "I'd rather not fall in again, and I'm sure you wouldn't either."

Chewie shook his head vigorously at this. Rey could only imagine how long it would take for him to dry out if he were to land in the water.

As they stepped into the ruins of the Jedi Temple, Rey pulled the sacred text out of her bag, turning to the page that bore the half-symbol. "Look," she said to Chewie, pointing at the illustration as they stood before the ancient mosaic seal in the ground that matched it. Chewie nodded in the affirmative.

When they reached the vine-covered hole further down below, Chewie worked quickly to secure a long rope around a nearby boulder. He tested it for strength and gave a howl of confirmation.

"OK," said Rey. She wrapped the rope around her arm, swung carefully down through the chasm and set herself down to the side of the icy water below. "I'm safe!" she called up, and watched as Chewie came down after her, just missing the edge of the lake by inches.

Together they walked towards the mirrored wall, and Chewie looked at her enquiringly.

"This is it," Rey murmured. "I think this is how we reach Ben."

Chewie moaned.

"That I'm not quite sure about. I'll check the book."

The Wookiee built a campfire for warmth as Rey settled down on the ground, her legs crossed. She pulled the sacred text from her bag, along with a square piece of mirror, and studied the inscripted page as Rose had shown her. After a while, she looked up. Chewie was watching her carefully.

"We'll have to wait until dusk. It says the portal is most accessible at a time when light and dark fuse together."

Chewie looked through an opening in the rocks and out to sea. _That's still some time away_ , he moaned in Shyriiwook. _Is that all it says?_

Rey nodded. "That is pretty much all it says."

 _It will just open?_ Chewie asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Truthfully, I don't know. I may have to use this," she replied, pointing at the Skywalker lightsaber, which was peeking out from inside her bag. "We already know the kyber crystal inside it let me reach Ben when I couldn't manage it any other way. This place is strong in both sides of the Force. The kyber might focus the energy enough to allow me to enter."

Chewie shook his head slightly, a worried sound coming from his lips.

"I won't," Rey replied. "I won't get lost."

 _If you do?_ he asked. _How will I get you back?_

"I'll have the saber," she said. "If it allows me to enter, I think it will allow me to exit. I'm only a visitor to this place."

Chewie's shoulders raised and lowered as if he was unsure. He stoked the fire and lifted a metal pot from among the embers. Pouring the hot liquid inside it into a wooden beaker from his kitbag, he passed the drink to Rey. She accepted it gratefully and for a moment they were both silent, listening to the sounds of the sea.

Chewie looked at her with concern. _You rest_.

She shook her head on instinct. _You will need strength, little one_ , he moaned.

After the confrontation with Poe and Finn back on Ajan Kloss, Rey didn't have the energy to argue with him. "All right. Just for a little while," she said, taking a few more sips of her drink before laying down on her side.

Chewie padded across, pulled her cloak over her and gently pushed the end of his kitbag beneath her head as a makeshift pillow. _I will wake you_ , he promised in a low and reassuring tone.

She nodded, her eyes already closing.

~

Some time later Rey woke to the gentle pressure of a paw on her shoulder.

 _It is nearly time_ , Chewie moaned, nodding at the opening in the rocks. Orange light streamed into the cave as the suns dropped towards the horizon.

"Thank you," she whispered, sitting up.

She pulled her cloak from her shoulders and took the lightsaber from her bag. Chewie walked with her to the mirrored wall. The light was dimming fast, the dying rays of the suns creeping across the surrounds of the cave. Together they watched the light begin to hit the mirrored wall, turning its surface bronze.

Rey took a deep breath. She rested her palm against the smooth icy barrier, feeling a pulse of energy -- both comforting and unnerving -- run through her. After one more even breath, she moved her thumb to the ignition button of the lightsaber and activated it. It thrummed and hissed, the sound echoing powerfully around the cave. Chewie took a step back with a whimper so slight it could barely be heard.

_Ben..._

Rey called him in her mind, as she raised the saber to her shoulder. She moved her other hand from the wall and, inch by inch, moved the lightsaber closer. When it touched the surface it fizzed, sparks appearing in the setting sunlight. It hummed and spat, pushing against the mirrored wall, but Rey felt no give in it.

 _I'm trying_ , she whispered inside her mind. But it wasn't working.

She deactivated the lightsaber, her hand dropping to her thigh. Chewie mumbled questioningly.

"I don't know. I thought the kyber would sense the portal -- sense Ben."

Chewie tilted his head, asking why.

"Because it was his grandfather's," Rey responded.

After a moment Chewie walked over to Rey's bag and gently extracted Leia's lightsaber. She watched him run his paw over the pearl inlay, a sigh escaping him. He held it out to her, nodding. _Try_ , he murmured softly.

She nodded, taking it carefully from the Wookiee. "This could work. If anyone's crystal can reach him this time..."

Chewie took a respectful step back. Rey turned to face the wall again.

Leia's lightsaber felt different in her hand. It was lighter, almost as though it could be invisible. Once again she pressed the ignition.

The embers of the setting suns were now blazing across the mirrored wall and this time, as Rey lifted the saber up to it, a glow bloomed around the energy blade. It did not hiss and spit, but sparkled, the electric sounds almost like a waterfall as it touched the wall. This time, Rey felt the lightsaber sink into the icy rock before her. Further and further it went, until it had almost disappeared and Rey's hand was right by the surface. After a tiny hesitation, she continued pressing forward. A cold chill touched her skin as she began to submerge through the surface and move through to the other side.

Chewie stepped forward without thinking, his worry taking the form of a soft and undulating wail.

"It's OK," Rey whispered. "It's OK..."

And he watched her step through the mirrored rock, disappearing in the final glow of the suns as the light dipped below the ocean.

~

Rey's breath shook as she looked around, Leia's lightsaber her only source of light. She looked behind her and saw nothing but darkness, though she could still smell and hear the crashing waves of the ocean.

She swallowed her nerves and took a step forward, holding the saber up to light her way. Everything was so dark, so damp. Strange-looking green plants glistened on the rocks, their tendrils almost alive in the glow of the lightsaber.

"Ben?" she murmured, then louder: "Ben?"

She heard a scrape and a scuffle to her right. Felt a wave of emotion hit her.

"Rey..."

She turned, lifting the lightsaber aloft like a lantern, and as the strength of the blade's glow left her immediate vision and she was able to focus beyond it, she saw him standing there.

"You're here," she whispered, and a smile spread across her face.

"So are you," he replied, his voice deep and scratchy.

She hurried towards him; he seemed to be finding it hard to walk. When she reached him she deactivated the saber and clipped it quickly to her belt. He was in shadow now, but she'd never seen him so clearly.

"Oh, Ben..." Her fingers trembling, she placed her hand to his face.

His jaw was stubbled and rough -- he was alive. And when he put his hand over her own, pure energy pulsed through her. She gazed into his eyes before noticing the blood and bruises on his knuckles.

"You're hurt," she said, frowning.

He shook his head as if it didn't matter.

"And your leg," she said, noticing his uneven stance, his foot held gingerly on the ground. The more she looked, the more she noticed the bruises, the cuts and scrapes. It was as though Exegol had happened only yesterday.

"You never healed?"

"No." His eyes searched hers as he brought his other hand to her forearm. "How long...?" He didn't finish.

"Nearly three standard months," she said, her voice wavering. "That's how long."

He swallowed, nodding with incredulity.

"So let's go now," she said softly. "You'll come with me, won't you?"

He looked at the ground very briefly before returning his gaze to hers, as if he couldn't look away for more than a second. "Yes."

She smiled at him, stroking her fingers along his jaw. She moved tentatively towards him as a questioning look rose in his eyes.

"Rey, you don't--"

"I do," she said, before pressing her mouth gently to his.

The roughness of his beard scratched her skin and she felt his lips tremble beneath her own. She moved slowly back from him and turned to the mirrored wall, holding his gaze all the while. She took Leia's lightsaber from her belt and ignited it to light the way.

"Take my hand," she said, stretching her fingers out towards his. "We're going home."


	13. Chapter 13

**Temple Island, Ahch-To**

Chewbacca paced back and forth, murmuring and muttering to himself.

The twin suns of Ahch-To had now fully set, and the only light in the cave came from the sputtering flames of the campfire he'd lit earlier. He was aware that some time had passed since Rey had disappeared through the portal, and every part of it that ticked away as he waited became harder for him to bear.

For a lack of anything else to do, he walked over to the opening in the rocks and gazed out at the sea. The waves had calmed and the stars were sparkling out in the night sky, a large moon glowing watchfully from among them. Hearing a rustle and a cheep, he looked down and saw a family of Porgs nesting in the rocks below the opening. The two parent birds stared at him balefully, pulling their wings around their young. Chewbacca backed away quietly, paws held up.

He went to stoke the fire again, and as he did so he heard a fizzing sound from behind him. He stood up quickly, glancing over at the mirror wall.

The energy blade of Leia's saber emerged in the darkness, gradually moving further into the cave. Chewie howled in relief as he saw Rey's hand, her forearm, her leg as she gradually appeared in the cave before him. He glanced at her face as soon as it became visible. But she wasn't looking in his direction. Rey's eyes were trained on the young man she was supporting as he limped unsteadily through the portal beside her.

A sound of pure mixed emotion fell from Chewie's lips as he looked at the face of Ben Solo.

~

The Wookiee's howl was the first thing Ben heard as he moved out of the portal with Rey.

A shock of feelings ran through him. In that one moment he'd been transported into two separate places: the first, his childhood, and the feeling of being lifted high on to his furry friend's shoulders in play after a return from a long mission. The second was more recent; it was the howl of grief he'd heard from his former friend on Starkiller Base not so very long ago.

Ben raised his eyes to look at Chewbacca as Rey helped him along. The air in the cave was cold, much like it had been in the World Between Worlds -- but it felt different here, so alive and so vital. He expected the Wookiee's gaze to be just as icy, but when Ben's eyes met Chewbacca's there was a slew of mixed emotions inside them.

Ben nodded to the Wookiee, unsure of what to say. The last time they had seen each other he had been Kylo Ren, and he'd been forcing his way into his old friend's mind, treating him horrifically in his desperate attempts to track the Resistance fighters. And yet despite that incursion, that cruelty, the Wookiee had only shown Ben his memories of their time together before... Before everything else.

"Chewie, help me," Rey said. "He can't walk."

After a moment's pause Chewie came over to the two of them and without any hesitation, he took the weight of Ben's battered body against himself as Rey hurried over to the campfire.

Ben closed his eyes, feeling the pure warmth and comfort of his old friend's fur, and sadness bloomed inside him for everything they had lost. Unbidden, a sob choked its way out of his throat.

"Here," Rey said, coming back to him with a beaker of warm water from the fire. Ben took it, gulping the liquid down gratefully.

"See if you can rest him down against the wall," she instructed. "We need to do what we can with his cuts and bruises before he goes any further. Maybe we can make a splint for his leg?"

Chewie nodded and began to assist Ben over to a spot by the fire.

"No," Ben said. "I can manage."

"Ben, look at you," Rey said. "You can barely walk and somehow we have to get you back out of this cave and on to the ship."

He found himself gripping tightly on to Chewbacca's arm as he was lowered gently down to the ground. "The sh-ship?" he stuttered, shivering.

Kneeling down beside him, Chewie pulled a roll of fabric and a canister of bacta spray from his kitbag. _The Millennium Falcon_ , he replied softly.

Ben nodded, swallowing down his emotion. "Of course," he said, his voice still rough.

Rey pressed the refilled beaker back into his good hand and helped Chewie with the worst of the cuts and bruises.

"I don't think we can do much with this leg for now," she said despondently, shaking her head. "The best thing would be to get him back to the Falcon, make him comfortable, and then straight to the med bay as soon as we get back to base."

Chewie nodded in the affirmative. He moved to put the bandages and bacta spray back in the kitbag, and as he did so all three of them spotted the stun-cuffs inside, glimmering in the firelight.

Rey and Chewie exchanged a glance. "You were told to use those as soon as we found him?" she asked.

Chewie gave a gentle howl. He looked at Ben and shook his head. _I can't._

"It's OK. You should," Ben said, putting the beaker down and holding his arms out, fists clenched and wrists together. No sooner had he done so than Rey put her hand on top of his, her skin warm in the chill that surrounded them.

"No," she said. "We don't do it. Not now, anyway. You're in no fit state to have your movement restricted even further. And we know you're no danger to us -- don't we, Chewie?"

Ben glanced between Rey and the Wookiee as they exchanged a nod of solidarity.

He looked down at her hand on top of his. Suddenly he felt a tingling, stretching sensation as his skin healed over his knuckles, and they all watched as the abrasions slowly faded away. He turned his hand over and flexed it gently beneath her fingertips.

Rey took a shuddering in-breath. "I haven't been able to do that properly since..."

He looked up at her. "When?"

"Since you left. The Force has been harder for me to reach. But now that you're back, I feel-- It's like it's stronger in me again."

He smiled a little.

 _Two halves_ , Chewie murmured. _Just like the seal._ And he pointed to the Jedi Temple above them.

~

Some time later -- via a process that involved Chewbacca attaching himself to the rope and supporting Ben while Rey used her newly strengthened Force to raise them through the cave ceiling -- they had moved back through the Jedi Temple and out on to the island proper.

Chewie, with his solid and warm bulk, continued to hold up Ben as they stumbled over the uneven ground, slipping every now and then on the wet grass and stony shingle. He had refused to be carried.

Rey reached the Falcon first and lowered the ramp, ready to assist Chewie in bringing Ben on board.

"Wait," he said, when they reached the ship. He was breathing heavily, exhausted from the effort. "Give me... just a minute."

Chewie looked up at the ship and then back down at Ben. _You have every right_ , he said in a reassuring tone.

Ben shook his head. "I don't know that I do."

Visions of himself sitting in the cockpit as a child, of putting on the headset and swinging around in the gunner's seat as his father told him tales of smuggling, of chasing and being chased, ran uncontrolled through his mind.

Rey's hand settled on his arm. "Ben, it's OK."

"It's not!" he said, his voice rising. Bitterness spiked through him for all that he had wasted, all the mistakes he'd made. "I don't deserve any of this. I can't board this ship after what I did." He looked up at Chewie, his eyes focusing firmly on the face of his father's old friend. "You know what I did."

 _I know_ , Chewie howled, tilting his head to the side as though punctuating the significance of his words. _You forget, they never stopped trying for you, Ben. Always we were here to reach you whenever you would need us_.

Tears fell from Ben's eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "No..." he repeated.

"Yes," Rey said, and her tone was kind but firm. "This is my ship, and before that it was your father's. I'd say that means it belongs to the both of us."

Chewie nodded with a gentle growl.

"She," Ben murmured, his chest heaving with emotion. "Dad... always referred to the Falcon as 'she'."

Rey smiled as Chewie raised his head to the sky and uttered a rumbling sound of affirmation.

" _She_ belongs to the both of us, then," Rey said, meeting his apprehensive gaze. "Now let's get you on board, please. You need to be warm and you need to be comfortable."

Drained of almost all strength now, Ben allowed Chewie to help him up the ramp on to the Falcon. He looked around him as they ascended upwards and moved along the corridor to the main hold. It was newer, cleaner. But it still smelled the same.

His reserves were almost fully depleted when Chewie lowered him carefully down on to the bunk. His eyes closed as he lay back on to the soft mattress, stretching out his damaged leg as straight as he could and pulling up his good one to rest at an angle. He could hear Rey and Chewie muttering to each other as they closed the ramp and started the engine to get the heaters running.

 _My son_ , he heard.

His mother's voice. Just like all those times he had lain on this bunk as a boy so she could read him stories. As he'd slept here, journeying with his father on long routes around the galaxy. As he'd fell back laughing after beating an exasperated Chewie at another game of dejarik.

_You've come home at last._

And with her voice echoing softly through his mind, he fell into a quiet slumber, the likes of which he had not experienced since he was a young boy.


	14. Chapter 14

**On board the Gallofree transporter, Mid Rim**

Rose approached Finn. He was standing in the entrance to the bridge, his right arm braced up against the wall. "You OK?" she asked.

He glanced down at her before looking back out at the stars. "Good. You?"

She contemplated his blunt reply. It wasn't the sort of response he usually gave unless he was preoccupied with something -- and it was obvious what that thing was.

"I'm fine," Rose responded, crossing her arms as she too looked out into space. "I've just been thinking."

A few seconds passed. She let the moment hang.

"About what?" he finally asked.

"Rey."

Finn rubbed his forehead. "Me too."

"Listen," Rose said, putting a hand on his forearm, "I know you're worried."

"Worried?" he repeated, and the pilot turned around in his seat, disturbed by the sudden rise in the volume of their conversation. Rose steered Finn away from the bridge and towards the cargo hold.

" _Worried_ is an understatement," he said.

"I can see that. But have you stopped to think about what's really happening here?"

"What's happening is Kylo Ren is about to return and nobody seems to be panicking about that except me."

She shook her head. "No. That's not what this is."

He looked down at her. "What is it then? Because that's sure as hell what it looks like to me."

She pulled him over to a metal bench that had seen better days. "Sit down and listen to me. Please," she added, when he resisted.

Once he'd sat beside her, one leg bouncing up and down with pent-up energy, she took her pendant out from inside her jacket.

"Look at this." She pressed it into his hand.

He sighed, running his thumb over the engraved crescent.

"You remember what this means to me, don't you?"

"Of course I do," he replied, his voice softer now. He knew this was the only solid memory Rose had of her sister; her only family heirloom. And he knew there was a time when she thought she'd lost it.

"Every time I look at this I think about how Paige was the other half of me. And even though--"

"Rose," Finn interjected quietly.

"No. Let me finish."

He looked at her and nodded, placing the pendant back in her hand and closing his fingers over hers.

"Even though I carried on after she died -- went to Canto Bight with you, flew a fighter at Crait..."

Finn raised an eyebrow. "I don't think we can call those tin cans 'fighters', Rose."

She was pleased to see a quirky smile on his lips. "True. But we went into battle anyway, didn't we?"

"Yeah." He clasped her hand a little tighter. "We did."

"And even though I carried on and did those things, and I'm doing this now, with you--" she gestured around the ship, "-- I never, ever forget the feeling that I'm missing my other half."

Finn sighed.

"My point is that I continue to live my life even though I've lost her. But every day I wake up feeling her loss. I know in my bones that she's never coming back. She's gone for good. But Finn, if I had a way to save her..."

"I know you would have."

"So let me ask you this -- do you trust Rey?"

Finn looked at her. "Of course I do."

"Then you need to stop thinking about how you feel and start thinking about how she feels. Solo is her other half, Finn. We know that now."

"Everyone's just calling him Solo now?" he said, with a tinge of bitterness.

" _I'm_ calling him Solo because Rey does. Rey would never bring back Kylo Ren. But she would bring back the son of Leia and Han. We can't begin to understand what it's like to be part of a dyad, but we can remember what it feels like to lose the people who feel like they complete us. I think that's what he is to her."

Finn let go of Rose's fingers and rubbed his hands over his face, his forearms coming to rest on his knees as he gazed at the floor.

Rose placed a reassuring hand on his back. "I trust her. If there was any chance he was still Ren -- any chance at all -- then she wouldn't be doing this. Don't you believe that?"

"Yes," Finn murmured after a few moments.

"And if Leia were still here, what would she be doing?"

"She'd be trying to save him too."

"Of course she would. She never stopped trying to bring him back. Even her death was an attempt to save him," Rose said softly. "Don't we owe it to her to support Rey?"

"But, Rose--"

"No," she said. "No buts. You know Rey better than any of us. I know you only want to protect her, but she knows what she's doing. And you need to let her do that."

Finn leaned back against the wall and looked at Rose. His gaze was pained but calm. "What would we do without you, huh?"

Rose tilted her head to one side. "Well, without me Beaumont's having the time of his life. You should have seen him when I said I was coming on the mission and that he was to take over sorting out Maz's chests and the archival material."

"Happy as a Jawa in a scrapyard?"

She laughed. "You could say that."

After a few moments of silence, Finn spoke. "You know, what you said on Crait -- you were right."

"What do you mean?"

"About saving what we love. That's what we did -- it's how we won. It's all we can do."

Rose nodded and leaned into Finn as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She wouldn't point out that that was exactly what Rey was doing, maybe even at that minute. That might be a step too far for Finn to admit -- for now.

~

**Ajan Kloss**

"Ready?" Rey asked.

Chewie looked between her and Ben as he prepared to lower the ramp of the Falcon. Ben took a breath and nodded, shifting on his good foot and leaning on the makeshift crutch Chewie had cobbled together from some scrap parts. The Wookiee went to press the button.

"No, wait," Ben suddenly said. "The cuffs. You need to put the cuffs on me."

Chewie wailed uncertainly.

"I really don't want to do that," Rey said.

"I know, but... It was your condition, wasn't it?" he asked Chewie.

The Wookiee nodded sadly, and went to his kitbag to retrieve the stun-cuffs.

Rey shook her head. "These are coming off the minute you get into the med bay," she muttered.

"They'll stay on as long as they need to," Ben said to her calmly. "People need to-- _Your friends_ need to know that I'm not a threat."

She frowned and let out an unhappy sigh. "I don't like this."

"I know you don't. I can feel it," he said, and quirked one corner of his mouth up when she looked at him.

"How will you even move with these things on?" she continued to complain as Chewie closed the stun-cuffs over Ben's wrists as softly as he could.

 _Feel all right? Not hurting?_ the Wookiee asked.

"They're fine," Ben confirmed. "Thank you."

 _She is right, walking alone is too hard now. Leave the crutch_ , Chewie moaned. He raised his arm and looped it around Ben's shoulders once more, allowing the young man to brace his weight against him.

"We're going straight to the med bay, no stopping," Rey instructed as she approached the button for the ramp. "Got it?"

They both looked at her and nodded.

 _No choice, huh?_ Chewie mumbled quietly to Ben, and he smiled a little.

The Falcon's ramp hissed as it lowered down to the ground. They heard the murmur of voices outside in the landing zone, followed by an immediate hush.

"Come on," Rey said, and she walked purposefully down the ramp ahead of them.

Poe stood before the ship, his hands clasped in front of him. Behind him were Connix and Officer Huetrin Jones, whose hand lay firmly on top of a blaster gun that was holstered at his hip.

"Rey," Poe said with a nod. "You OK?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "There'll be no need for that," she said, indicating the blaster gun and eyeing Officer Jones shrewdly. "He's cuffed, just like you wanted -- not that he poses any threat considering the condition he's in."

"Condition?" Poe repeated.

"He's totally unhealed from Exegol. He can barely walk, he's covered in injuries -- I suspect he's got some broken ribs and who only knows what else."

"But it's been more than two months. How could that be?" Connix asked.

"We don't know." Rey turned as Chewie and Ben began to make their way slowly down the ramp behind her. "But he needs medical help immediately."

The hush as Ben Solo stepped carefully down on to the ground beside Chewbacca was palpable. For several seconds, only the sounds of the jungle could be heard.

Poe raised his chin and stepped forward. He felt Rey tense next to him.

"Solo," he said, by way of a greeting.

Rey glanced at him, surprised to hear him use Ben's given name.

"Commander Dameron," Ben said, nodding deferentially.

"It's General now," Poe responded. Everyone looked from one man to the other. "Rey tells me you need medical assistance. Judging by the look of you, I'd agree."

Ben shifted on the ground slightly. Chewbacca's rolling murmur suggested that they get on with it.

Poe nodded calmly at the Wookiee and then looked at Ben for a few more moments. "You need to know that there are two reasons I've accepted this development. The first is Rey. The second is General Leia Organa, the finest leader the Rebellion and the Resistance ever had."

Ben's jaw worked slightly. "I understand."

"She'd be happy to see you. And because of that, you will remain here indefinitely while we figure out what to do next."

"Perhaps we can discuss this later?" Rey said firmly, staring Poe in the eye as she walked over to Ben.

She placed her arm around his waist to give him some additional support; his muscles were trembling from the effort of staying upright, even with Chewie's assistance.

Poe turned to Officer Jones. "Supervise the medical assessment and update me straight away."

The man nodded. "General."

"Come on," Rey said, and she, Ben and Chewie made their way carefully past the others and on towards the base buildings.

Poe placed his hands on his hips and blew out a breath. He gave Connix an enquiring look, as though asking her to endorse his decision. She met his gaze before they both turned to watch the unsteady trio, Officer Jones right behind them, his hand still hovering by the gun.

"Chewbacca?" Poe called.

The Wookiee looked back.

"Take those damn cuffs off."


	15. Chapter 15

**Ajan Kloss**

Doctor Harter Kalonia looked up from her desk as Rey burst into the med bay. "Good to see you! I trust all is--"

The older woman stopped speaking as Chewbacca ducked through the entrance, supporting an exhausted Ben Solo.

"He needs help," Rey urged.

Kalonia picked up a body-scanner from her desk and indicated a bed just across the way. Chewbacca shuffled over to it and deposited Ben carefully down on top of it.

"His leg is damaged, he's cut and bruised all over," Rey began. "We did what we could with bacta spray and I did begin to heal him myself but..."

Kalonia glanced at her. "But?"

"I told her to stop," Ben said.

"Did you now," Kalonia said rhetorically.

Officer Jones entered the med bay behind them. Kalonia eyed his blaster gun with distaste. "You know I disapprove of weapons in the med bay."

"General's orders, ma'am."

She raised an eyebrow. "I'll have words with him later. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a patient." Kalonia approached the bed. "Let's see what we have here. Hello again, young man."

"Again?" Rey asked, as both Ben and Chewbacca glanced at the doctor in puzzlement.

Kalonia activated the body-scanner and began passing it over Ben, observing the read-out on the digital panel. "This is Ben Solo, is it not?"

Ben nodded, frowning. He'd never seen this woman in his life. _How could she--?_

"I attended your mother in her pregnancy," Kalonia said smoothly. "And I checked in on you from time to time when you were a baby."

"I never knew..." Rey murmured.

"Leia preferred not to discuss it in Resistance company -- and it was a long time ago."

Ben swallowed, laying his head back against the raised upper half of the bed. Rey placed her hand on his forearm as comfort, and he turned to look at her.

"Well, you were right," Kalonia said after a moment or two. "He's in a pretty bad way. How old are these injuries?"

 _Nearly three months_ , Chewbacca grumbled from the foot of the bed. _Exegol_.

Kalonia looked at him in amazement. "The leg is definitely broken." She looked at Ben calmly. "I'm inclined to think it needs re-breaking."

"So it _has_ tried to heal?" Rey asked, gripping Ben's arm.

"Not as such. The bones have begun to knit themselves in a rather twisted manner. If I can re-break them, can you Force-heal them? It would make his recovery much more manageable."

"Of course."

"No, Rey..." Ben began.

"You can't tell me not to," she said.

"More to the point, why would you want to refuse her help?" Kalonia asked him, frowning. "The recovery otherwise will be lengthy -- and painful, make no mistake about that."

"I don't want her using the Force to do it. It tires her too much. I can heal on my own, however long it takes."

"Ben, no," Rey said. "I told you I've felt stronger since you've been back. There's no reason why I can't."

"I don't want you to. Please."

Kalonia raised an eyebrow. "Well, you can discuss it amongst yourselves. I'm going to administer some pain relief. I'll also need to run some blood tests and a viral screen. All right?" She looked at Ben for his permission, which he gave with a nod.

The door swung open and Poe strode in. Jones began to relay the developments to him, but was swiftly dismissed.

"I'll speak to the doctor," Poe said. "You can head back."

"Sir." The officer nodded and headed for the door.

Rey looked up at Poe. "You didn't stay away long."

"Better that I know the developments as they happen. So, Doc, where do we stand?"

Kalonia repeated the diagnosis to Poe as she inserted one line into Ben's arm and another on the back of his hand. One began to transmit a mixture of painkillers and viral antibodies, while the other drew a small amount of blood into a glass vial. She quickly snapped the vial into a silver cylinder on the back of her datapad.

"So why didn't his injuries heal?" Poe asked.

"I can't say. It could be something to do with the environment he was in, or the fact that he had -- at least as far as we knew -- died."

Ben's eyes closed as he began to feel the cool liquid begin to seep through his veins.

The doctor frowned at her screen. "That can't be right..."

"What is it?" Rey asked.

"His midi-chlorian count," she replied unsteadily.

"His midi-what?" said Poe.

Kalonia looked at Ben, who had opened his eyes again. "The midi-chlorians: they give someone their strength in the Force," she said.

"And?" Poe urged.

"His count is virtually zero."

Rey looked at Ben. "Which means what?"

"It means he's lost almost all Force capability. And that might explain why his wounds never healed."

"Well, couldn't that just be the count he's always had?" Poe asked.

Kalonia shook her head. "As a Skywalker? Impossible. Just a minute." She went to her desk and pushed an intercom button. "Maz? Are you around?"

After a few seconds of static, the voice of Maz Kanata came through the speaker. "Kalonia! I'm here."

"I need Leia's medical records. Do you have them?"

"I don't, but I know where they are. Let me access her quarters and I'll be with you."

Rey looked down at Ben. He held her gaze, his eyes glassy as the pain relief began to take effect. _Or was it..._

"Are you OK?" she whispered, leaning down and brushing her hand along his jaw.

"I don't know..." he said, his voice unsteady.

Poe watched them in silence until Maz appeared a few minutes later, a wooden box in her hands. Her eyes went straight to Ben.

"Here," she said to Kalonia, placing the box on her desk. The doctor began to leaf through the papers as Maz walked over to the bed, activating the zoom on her goggles as she approached.

"So... Young Solo has returned," she said, her expression unreadable.

"Er, this is Maz," Rey said, unsure of what else to do. "She knew your mother--"

"And your father," Maz finished.

Ben didn't know what to say.

"I've got it," Kalonia said from behind them, and came towards the bed with some papers in her hand.

"What's it say, Doc?" Poe asked.

"At birth his count was fifteen and a half thousand. Higher than his mother. By age two it had risen by another thousand. Nothing beyond that, but we can safely assume it rose as he grew older and became stronger in the Force. Put simply, there is no known explanation as to why his count has been decimated."

Rey looked at Ben in distress. "Ben, you need it back. If you don't have the Force--"

"Whoa, hold on," Poe interrupted. "Since when can we just give the Force to people?"

"If it's true that he lost his Force ability by resurrecting Rey--" Kalonia nodded toward her, a look of sympathy on her face, "-- then it's possible she may be able to transmit some of it back to him. But this is conjecture -- it's nothing I've ever come across before."

"No," Ben said before Rey could speak. "I won't let you do that."

"Ben, it's my decision to make," she said.

"All things being equal, I think it's his too," Poe interjected. "You can't give it to him if he doesn't want it."

Ben nodded at Poe in silent thanks.

"Why would you not?" Rey said, dumbfounded. "Ben, without the Force..."

"Without it I'll be fine. You said yourself that your strength with the Force was weakened after I'd gone. I won't let you risk that further by giving it to me."

"But I--"

"Rey," Kalonia said calmly, coming over to her side of the bed. "I think it best that we focus on his immediate recovery for now. This Force business can be discussed later –- perhaps when you have some privacy?"

At her words, Poe looked behind him and noticed at least ten or twelve people -- and C-3PO -- had come into the med bay and were loitering by the entrance. Most of them froze when he looked at them.

"What is this, a space-port cantina? Get outta here!" he yelled, ushering them all out.

"Fine," Rey acquiesced, though not happily. "We'll talk about it later. But I'm going to fix that leg," she said to Ben, her expression making it clear that there would be no debate.

"Actually, that would provide a prime opportunity for us to test the Force theory," Kalonia said.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

"If I take some of Rey's blood now, and again after she heals your leg, then we can see if her count goes down. I can repeat the test with you, to see if your count has gone up. Purely academic, of course. Whatever decision comes as a result of that is between the two of you."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Poe said. "We still don't know what the fall-out of this guy's return will be. If it then becomes known that you voluntarily gave him Force powers... It's a bigger discussion we've got to have."

"He's right," Ben said, squeezing Rey's hand. He and Poe exchanged a neutral glance as Rey sat down on the next bed along for Kalonia to take a sample of her blood.

"Twenty-two thousand," the doctor said a moment later.

"Higher than Master Yoda," Maz added from her position at the foot of the bed.

 _No wonder she won_ , Chewie said from beside her.

"Right, let's get this leg sorted. I'll just gather my equipment." A short while later Kalonia had fitted two curved metal plates either side of Ben's lower leg, both of which were attached to a small control panel, and she'd increased the flow of his pain relief.

"Now, this is going to hurt like billy-o," Kalonia said gently to Ben, "but once she starts to heal you it should dissipate."

He took a breath and nodded. "Got it."

"Ready?" Kalonia asked Rey, who was braced on the other side of the bed, hands outstretched.

"Ready." She nodded.

Kalonia pressed a button on the control panel and the two plates clamped in tight on Ben's leg, then moved in opposite directions, then back up and out again. Ben screamed, his shoulders clenching up and off the bed, his fists bunching in the sheets.

"Oh damn," Poe murmured, putting the back of his arm to his mouth and looking at Chewbacca, who wailed in distress.

"Now!" Kalonia yelled at Rey.

Breathing fast, Rey placed both hands on Ben's leg. Everyone watched as she focused her mind, a sob tearing itself involuntarily from her throat, her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

Suddenly there was a crackle in the air, and a low humming sound, like a generator starting up. Louder and louder it got, its pitch increasing as the crackling sound popped and hissed like static in the air.

"Doc...?" Poe asked hesitantly.

"I don't--" Kalonia murmured, stepping back from the bed.

"Guys?" Poe said, his voice louder as the sound increased.

The lightbulbs exploded, casting shattered glass down around them, but Rey remained still, her breathing laboured as she held on to Ben's leg.

"What the--" Poe began, and then there was silence.

Ben relaxed back on the bed, his eyes closed, his head drifting to one side.

Rey staggered back on to the neighbouring bed, shaking. "I felt his pain," she murmured. "I felt it all."

"All right, here we go," Poe said soothingly, rushing to stabilise her.

Kalonia approached her with the blood canister and took another sample, clipping it to her datapad as before. "Lay her back, let her get her breath," she instructed. She took a second sample from Ben, and plugged that into the datapad too.

"What does it say?" asked Poe.

"Rey has dropped only five hundred. Ben, however, has increased by five thousand."

"OK," Poe said nervously. "So she can transmit the Force to him? Even though the midi-whatsit numbers don't match?"

"It would appear that way. But..." The doctor narrowed her eyes for a moment before turning to the Wookiee, who was still murmuring small howls of worry. "Chewbacca, roll Rey's bed away. Just for a minute."

Chewie did as requested, placing a reassuring paw on Rey's shoulder as he did so.

"Let's try this again." Kalonia took another sample from Ben and re-ran the test. "He's dropping. Now just under four thousand."

"Already?" said Poe. "So it's not permanent? The Force disappears once it's done the healing?"

"It's not the Force," Maz said quietly from behind him. "It's her. He needs _her_."

Chewie wailed softly from the other end of the room as Rey began to sit up.

"The dyad," Poe said. "Together they're stronger. Apart, they're..."

"Unbalanced," Maz finished. "Weaker. They need each other more than we thought."

~

Ben slept, his intravenous line still running but all other injuries treated and medicated. Kalonia had run one more test on him and confirmed that his count had dropped even further, though not as low as it had been when he'd first arrived.

After sweeping up all the glass, Chewie had pushed the second bed up next to Ben's. He'd then pulled the glass bay door closed and sat down on the other side of it, Kalonia buzzing around her desk just beyond him.

Rey lay on the second bed, comfortable on her side as she watched Ben sleep. His face looked serene as he slept, his hair jet-black against the white pillow.

She reached across the gap between their beds and placed her fingertips on his open palm.

"I can't believe you're here," she whispered. "I have that same feeling I had when you came back for me. When I saw you."

He stirred, turning his head and opening his eyes to gaze at her. "But this time you came for me."

"Do you feel that?" she asked breathlessly, as a warm, prickling sensation bloomed where their skin touched.

He turned his palm and pressed his fingertips to hers. "I feel you," he murmured.

"Ben?" she said after a few moments.

"Yes?"

"You feel like home to me," she whispered.

And she watched him fall back asleep, her fingers still held tightly in his.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an additional note to this chapter, Finn’s speech to the stormtroopers has been inspired by John Boyega’s appearance at London’s Black Lives Matter protest against the death of George Floyd. His speech, given off the cuff at Hyde Park on 03 June 2020, was incredibly powerful and stays with me to this day. John expressed the thought that his career might be affected by his political actions but received an outpouring of support from industry figures and fans across the world. Below I will post links to the speech itself and a transcript of his words.
> 
> https://youtu.be/GGXEB25WdyQ - John’s speech in full
> 
> https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/john-boyega-george-floyd-protest-london-speech-transcript - John’s speech transcribed for reading

**Shu-Torun, Mid Rim region**

“Good to see you, kid,” Lando said, as Finn and Rose disembarked from the GR-75 Gallofree and headed towards the transporter ship he and Jannah had arrived on a few days earlier. “Any trouble finding us?”

“No, none,” Finn said. “That lava’s pretty visible on approach.”

The landscape of Sho-Torun was grim -- black sands and uneven terrain, with virtually nothing in the way of fauna and flora. Huge peaks and crags dominated the horizon, with several volcanoes spewing slithering streams of violent orange magma.

“Let’s get to it,” Jannah said. “I’ve a feeling we don’t have long.”

They gathered around the map display on board the transporter and Jannah pulled up a plan of the surrounding area. “We found the defectors hiding here.” She pointed at an area of the map. “It’s the start of a cave system that runs right across the landscape.”

“How many?” Finn asked.

“Just under two hundred,” Lando answered. “And every one of them exhausted.”

“Are they all on board?” Rose asked, to the older man’s confirmation. “They must be feeling terrible.”

“They were,” Jannah confirmed. "Most of them were wearing only the layering clothes from beneath their trooper armour. They’d sourced water from a spring at the base of one of the volcanoes here--” she indicated it on the map, “-- but it’s barely passable. I won’t be surprised if there are viruses brewing.”

“What about food?”

“Initially they were catching fish from one of the lakes, but the existing trooper cell tracked what they were doing and began to open fire on them. Look-outs have been stationed ever since. They've barely eaten, apart from some plants they found growing at the base of one of the hills near their cave.”

Finn shook his head. “Thank the Force you found them when you did,” he muttered. “And the trooper cell? What numbers are we looking at for that?”

“Unclear,” Lando answered. “We asked the defectors but their memories are hazy. Some say forty, some say four hundred.”

“And they’re based where?”

Jannah pointed to a volcano that lay across the terrain for their position, behind a ridge.

“Here. That’s where the shots came from.”

“How long ago?”

“Maybe eight or nine days.”

Finn thought for a moment. “The caves -- you said there’s a whole system of them. Why haven’t the cell run an attack through there?”

Lando leaned forward and tapped another area of the map with his cane. “Because there was a landfall here. It crashed through what looked like a quicksand bog and created a cave-in. There’s no way to get from one side to the other.”

"That's something at least," Rose murmured.

“What do you want to do, General?” Jannah asked.

Finn looked over the map one more time. "This ridge that's between us and the cell -- how far is it from where they’re hiding?”

“I'd say two standard kilometres. A little more, perhaps. What are you thinking?”

Jannah looked at him. He was silent for a few more moments.

“I don’t want to fight them. We will if we have to, but I don’t want to.”

“The Resistance not fighting troopers?” Lando said. “Times have changed.”

“Yeah, because there weren’t huge numbers of ex-troopers looking for a better way,” Jannah said, nudging him.

Lando cracked a smile. “OK, so what’s the plan, kid? Forget ‘em and run?”

Finn shook his head. “No. I want to speak to them.”

Jannah rested both hands on the map display and leaned forward. “Finn, the minute they see you they’ll fire. They will have already seen our ships and registered them as Resistance. Depending on their numbers it can only be a matter of time before they spring an attack. In fact, I’m surprised it hasn’t already happened.”

“They won’t see me,” he said.

The others looked at each other, puzzled, and then Lando shrugged. “He knows his game. Whatever he’s planning’s got to work.”

Finn nodded, grateful for the older man's confidence. He turned to Rose. “Can we transmit comms out of the ship? On a relay system?”

Rose thought for a moment. “If I add linking software to one of the engineering droids, then it’s possible. It’ll take me a few minutes, though.”

Finn nodded. “Do it.”

Rose hurried out of the ship and back to the GR-75 on which she and Finn had arrived.

“Are you sure about this?” Jannah asked. “The minute they hear your voice there’ll be a target on our backs. We may have to hustle our way out of this place faster than you think.”

“It's worth a try. There may be more of them who want to defect and we’ll take as many as we can get. I’d rather bring them in than fight them. There’s got to be more just like us, Jannah," he said meaningfully. " More who know this isn’t the way.”

Lando raised his chin and gazed at Finn. “It’s a bold move. I like it.”

Rose came back in a few minutes later, an engineer from the GR-75 by her side. “It’s ready. The droid’s outside.”

They left the transporter and headed out on to the blackened sands. Rose passed Finn the handheld transmitter. “The sound should carry well. The wind’s going the right way.”

“Should we have weapons ready?” Jannah asked nervously.

Finn shook his head. “If they had a look-out stationed in view of us then we would have known it by now.”

Jannah looked unsure. “All right. But I’m going to climb up to the ridge and keep an eye out for any movement.”

Finn watched her hand move instinctively towards her bow. “Do not fire first,” he said.

She nodded, hurrying up the ridge before settling just behind an outcrop and pulling her electrobinoculars from her belt.

Finn raised the transmitter to his lips, pressed the button, and an electric buzz began to transmit from the droid, the sound lifting in the winds and carrying over the ridge.

“This is General Finn of the Resistance.” He paused. “Some of you may know me as trooper FN-2187. I was like you once. Trained to fight to kill, to do whatever it takes to win no matter the cost.”

Finn let go of the transmitter button for a moment and then pressed it again. Rose and Lando exchanged a glance.

“It never felt right, did it? I know it never felt like my destiny. I knew I could do something good, and I realised that serving under the First Order would make that impossible. Some of you -- many of you -- might feel same.”

He stopped for a second and looked at the ground. Rose moved closer and put her hand on his shoulder.

He took a breath. “If you’re like me, then you were taken from your family as a child. Do you remember them? Your parents? Siblings? I don’t. I probably never will. But I have a new family now -- a new purpose. And I’m doing the good that I always felt like I should. I succeeded, regardless of my beginnings.”

Lando nodded his head slowly. _This kid was good_.

“That’s not a unique thing," Finn continued. "It doesn’t have to be. It’s possible for all of us -- for all of you.” He paused again and they listened to the sound of the wind whistling gently around the ridge.

Rose looked up at Jannah. No movement.

“We don’t want to fight you,” Finn said, his voice clear. “If we fight you the pain persists, the violence, the suffering. I am a physical representation that you, as a stormtrooper -- whether you still believe in the First Order or not -- you do not mean nothing.”

His voice was rising. Rose tightened her grip on his shoulder.

“You are not nothing. You are men and women, every single one of you. Sons, daughters, brothers, sisters. And I refuse to demonize you.” Another pause while he took a breath. “We are asking you to lay down your weapons, take off your armour, and come with us. Create a life beyond the one of violence and pain and death to which you have been subjected through no fault of your own. Create a life of friendships, family -- kids if you want them. Tell your children the story of how you made the biggest decision of your life -- to take back the power you always had.”

Rose took a shaky breath. She had never heard Finn speak so deeply of his experiences. _What this was costing him_ …

“You have the power,” he continued. “You get to decide how you use it. Come with us. Come with us and you--"

There was a blip from the transmitter. Finn let go of the button and then pressed it again. And once more. Nothing but buzz and interference, relayed out loud from the droid.

Then a different voice.

“ _Master Finn? Master Finn?_ ”

Rose and Finn looked at each other. “Is that Threepio?” he asked.

“I don’t understand,” Rose said. She turned to the engineer. “How can we hear that?”

“ _Master Finn, I can’t begin to tell you!_ ” C-3PO continued, his voice carrying up and over the ridge. “ _Artoo thinks you might be aware, but as a General off-base then I have taken it upon myself to keep you informed. The news here is that young Master Solo has returned!_ ”

Finn’s eyes widened, his shoulders sinking as he met Rose’s gaze.

“Deactivate it!” Rose yelled. “Deactivate it now!”

She and the engineer rushed over to the droid and opened up its control panel.

“ _I can scarcely believe it myself!_ ” C-3PO said, his dulcet tones lifting high into the air. “ _I do believe he’s no longer presenting himself as the reprehensible Kylo Ren, or at least that’s what Mistress Rey seems to think--_ "

“Cut that damn thing off!” Lando yelled.

Rose and the engineer hastily pulled out bunches of wires from inside the droid’s communication panel.

“ _\--and I do believe her judgement, Master Finn, as I’m sure we all do, but I felt you ought to--_ "

Silence.

“What was that?” Finn asked. “What happened?”

“We... we must have crossed some wires,” Rose said, her hand clenching on the bunch she’d just pulled straight out of the droid. “Rather than transmitting only what was said into the handheld, we must have set it to transmit any comms... Any at all.”

“We weren’t expecting a message,” the engineer said, deathly pale as he swallowed nervously. “Were we?”

“No, we weren't,” Finn said simply, letting go of the handheld transmitter. It dropped softly into the black sand at his feet.

"Finn, I'm so sorry," Rose said. "I..."

“What was that?” Jannah asked, skidding down the ridge in front of them.

“You heard it all?” Lando asked.

She nodded. “All of it.”

“And the cell?” Finn asked calmly.

She held his gaze. Rose’s face sank. “They’re on the move. They heard it all.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Ajan Kloss**

Early morning light streamed through the high windows of the med bay.

Poe stood by Dr Kalonia’s desk, his arms folded across his chest and one hand rasping over his two-day-old stubble as he looked at Rey and Ben sleeping quietly in the patient beds. The doctor had noticed he didn’t seem to be in the mood for talking, so she’d left him to it and continued with her notes.

Chewbacca was sprawled back over his chair like a huge, abandoned coat. His snores were soft and rhythmic, but his legs -- sticking out in front of him like tree trunks -- proved harder to ignore.

“Credit for them when you’re ready,” Kalonia said quietly to Poe, adding the copies she’d made from Leia’s records into a new data-filed marked SOLO, BEN.

Poe didn’t speak for a few moments. Then he took a chair from the wall, span it around and sat down, resting his forearms on the back. “What’s your take, Doc? I know you said you’ve never come across anything like this before -- this Force transference -- but I want to know what you think.”

She put down her pen and sat back. “It’s unknown to me. I can’t pretend otherwise. I’ve seen midi-chlorian levels change in Force-sensitive users before, but only due to the normal ageing process -- babies growing into children, adolescents, adults, and becoming stronger with the Force as they train. Leia’s own level increased during her pregnancy with Ben, though it went back down to her usual number after he was born. Again, that’s not unusual. But this phenomenon…”

She turned in her chair and looked at Rey and Ben. Poe followed her gaze.

“I’ll look into it," she said. "Maz has some… contacts, shall we say, who may know more. Beaumont may be able to find something in the archival material. But I suspect it’s all tied into this dyad business.” She looked at Poe. “What about you, General? What’s your opinion on these developments? I can’t imagine this has been an easy thing to accept, or even to allow.”

Poe rubbed a hand over his face. “You can say that again. My first instinct was that Rey shouldn’t go, but I kept thinking of Leia. What she would have wanted. How she would have handled this. How she would’ve reacted when the Falcon touched down here with her kid on board.”

Kalonia nodded, a soft smile on her lips. “I wish she’d lived to see it. She always held out hope.” She picked up her pen, ready to return to her notes. “That’s one thing about the Skywalkers. They would always return to hope, even when times were at their most dire.”

The door to the med bay opened and Connix came in, a steaming mug in her hands. “Hi, Doctor.”

“Morning, Kaydel. All’s well with you?” Kalonia responded.

“Yes, thank you. I’m guessing you had a busy night?” Connix peered through the glass door at Rey and Ben.

“The busiest night I’ve had for some time. Makes a change from dealing with plant rash and bug bites. I don't see much in the way of battle injuries, these days.”

Connix laughed and handed the mug to Poe. “Here,” she said to him. “I didn’t see you eat or drink anything before you came in here.”

Kalonia raised a subtle eyebrow and returned to her notes.

Poe took a few gulps of the caf, eyeing Connix gratefully over the rim of the mug. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” She smiled, then turned and stepped over Chewie’s legs to look in on the sleeping pair. “Have they both been out like lights?”

Poe walked over and stood by her side. “Doc says so.”

“It’s bizarre, isn’t it?” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“Seeing him just lying there. He was the Supreme Leader, the person we thought was the architect of all this galactic destruction. But look at him. He’s just a man, like you.”

Poe finished his caf and sighed, lips pressed together in a firm line. “He may not have been the architect but he still committed the crimes. Doesn’t get him a free pass, I’m afraid. Even if he is the young, dark and brooding image of Han Solo.”

Connix looked at him. “So what do we do?”

“That I’m still a little unsure about. I was going to speak to you--”

As he turned to walk away from the glass door he forgot about Chewie and tripped straight over the Wookiee’s leg. Chewie woke with a start, throwing himself up off the chair with a siren howl.

“Easy, big guy, it’s just me!” Poe said, holding his hands up.

Chewie shook his head as if to slough off the confusion and then turned to look through the glass door, suddenly remembering that he was on guard. Rey had woken up, and was rubbing her eyes as she sat forward on the second bed.

“Ah, at last,” Kalonia said. She pressed the button for the bay door, and it opened with a whoosh. The doctor glanced over her shoulder as Poe, Connix and Chewie crowded close behind her. “A little space, if you please?” They nodded and backed away. “Good morning, Rey. How are you feeling?”

Rey stretched and yawned. “Fine, thank you.” Then her gaze went straight to Ben, who still appeared to be sleeping. “Is he…?”

“He’s fine, my dear. He was clearly in need of much rest and recuperation. Are you all right for me to take another blood sample? I want to ensure you’re restored to your usual levels.” Rey nodded and Kalonia filled a small vial before walking back to her desk.

“Morning, sunshine,” Poe said. He noticed that Rey looked a little wary as he approached. “I’m glad you’re feeling OK.”

She nodded in an almost business-like manner before asking quietly, “Any news from Finn?”

“Not yet. I’m sure he’s OK. I’ll send a comm shortly -- just wanted to check in on you first.”

“Does he know?” she asked bluntly.

Poe rested both hands on the railing at the side of the bed. “About Solo?”

Rey nodded, glancing down at Ben once more, her eyes travelling down over his face as he began to stir. His bruises were starting to fade.

“I haven’t told him,” Poe answered.

“Good,” Rey said. “I’d rather do it myself.”

“I understand. Listen, get yourself straight and get some food. We need to talk. You good to meet up in an hour or so?”

“Yes, but not for long. I don’t want to leave him.”

They both looked down at Ben as he opened his eyes and raised himself up on one elbow.

“Rey,” he said, pushing his hair away from his face, “you need to eat.”

“So do you,” she said. “I’ll bring you something back.”

He shuffled upwards in the bed. “General Dameron.” He nodded.

Poe raised his chin. “Morning. Doc here’s got another test to run on you.” He glanced back at Rey. “Catch you in a while.”

Kalonia came over as Poe and Connix left the med bay. She checked Ben’s leg with the body-scanner. “Now, that’s looking much better. The sooner we get you back on your feet the faster your muscles will regain strength.”

“Already?” Rey asked. “Shouldn’t he rest some more?”

Kalonia put down the scanner and took another sample of Ben’s blood. “The bones are fully knitted together, which is all thanks to you. Now it’s about building up the strength around them.”

Rey looked at Ben with concern as the doctor returned to her desk to run the sample. “Do you feel up to that?”

He stretched both legs, wincing only slightly at the tenderness. “I think so. I think I’d like to take a walk outside in the fresh air. The real world.”

“If you’re sure,” Rey said. She climbed down off the bed and pushed it back into its normal place.

“Well, good news for you, Rey,” Kalonia said. “Your count is back to where it was -- twenty-two thousand on the nose.”

“And Ben?” Rey asked.

“Risen to five thousand and seems to be holding steady for now -- for which I expect he has you to thank.” She looked directly at him. “I’ll need to check it again in a few hours.”

He nodded. “Whatever you need, Doctor. Thank you.”

Rey, too, thanked Kalonia before turning back to Ben. “I’ll go and change, get you a plate of food.” Her gaze travelled down the plain, pale medical gown he wore. “And something to wear.”

She squeezed his hand -- a gesture he returned with more strength than she’d previously felt from him -- and headed out to her quarters.

~

An hour later Rey was back with a bundle of clothing and a tray of food.

With no help, even though Chewie walked steadily behind him the whole way, Ben moved slowly to the shower room at the end of the med bay. Shortly afterwards he emerged in a grey T-shirt and black trousers that Rey had found in the surplus room, his hair wet and brushed back from his face.

“You… kept the beard,” Rey said as he moved carefully towards her.

He ran his hand over the dark scruff. “No razor in there.”

She nodded as he sat back down on the bed, tucking ravenously into the food she’d brought.

He was just finishing up when Poe came back in. “You’re really up and walking, huh?” he said, his voice still guarded as he approached them.

“About that,” Ben said, standing up slowly. “I understand your need for detainment, General. I want you to know that I’ll follow whatever you decide.”

Rey looked between them and Poe caught her eye. “You have thoughts, I know,” he said to her. “Come on, let’s talk. He good to go, Doc?” he asked, turning to Kalonia.

“I’ll need him back in three to four standard hours for a repeat test, but otherwise, yes. The more he moves around, the better.”

Poe left the med bay, followed by Rey, Ben and Chewie, who still walked a little behind the pair in case Ben needed assistance. They headed back to the landing zone and towards the Falcon, where Connix, Maz and Beaumont were waiting.

“Pleased to meet you, Solo,” Beaumont said as they came near, holding out his hand.

Connix glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Beaumont pulled his hand back. “Is that not…? I don’t mean _pleased_ pleased. I’m just trying to be polite.”

Ben nodded at him. “Hello.”

“Hi, er, hi,” the historian stuttered. “I’m Beaumont. Resident historian and general admirer of anything… historic. Not that you’re historic…” he trailed off.

Poe frowned quizzically at him as he walked up the ramp into the Falcon.

“Sorry, I wasn’t really sure what to say,” Beaumont continued as Rey and Ben looked at him. “I mean, you’re not the Supreme… you know what… any more and I don’t think I’d like to greet you if you were, but then I suppose if we think historically and factually then you’re also the Prince of Alderaan, so… if someone wanted to, I suppose a bow wouldn’t be out of--”

“Beaumont!” Poe yelled from inside the ship. “Stop yammering.”

Beaumont apologised hastily as he hurried up into the Falcon behind Connix.

Rey looked at Ben. “Prince of Alderaan?” she asked incredulously.

He shook his head as they moved slowly up the ramp. “I don’t think so,” he said quietly. “Not now, and not for a long time.”

 _In the technical way_ , Chewie murmured from behind them, _yes_.

Rey didn’t know what to think as they headed along the corridor and into the main hold, where everyone took a seat.

Poe glanced around at them all. “So. We have a former Supreme Leader in our midst.”

“Must we?” Rey said, exasperated, putting a hand on Ben’s knee. She felt him startle slightly beneath her touch. “It’s quite clear that’s no longer who he is.”

Ben looked at her. “Rey, it’s better if we deal with the facts here.”

“That’s what I was trying to say!” Beaumont interjected.

“OK, enough!” Poe said. “Look, we’ll all call him Solo from now on, got it? It’s easier that way. But we all need to be clear about what happens next. I think I have a plan.”


	18. Chapter 18

**GR-75 Gallofree transporter ship, bound for Ajan Kloss**

Finn paced up and down the cargo hold. Rose and the others had wanted to leave as soon as they’d managed to get the droid to stop transmitting C-3PO’s message, but Finn wanted to wait, just in case there were any stragglers. Anyone else who’d decided stormtrooper life was not for them.

“We need to go,” Jannah had said, as he’d held his hand out for her electro-binoculars. “At least twenty are out of hiding already. They have weapons, it’s clear they’ve heard the message.”

She’d given him the binoculars and he’d moved swiftly up the ridge to observe the developments. If just one more trooper defected and headed their way, it would be one more soul saved. One more person pulled from the service of the Dark Side and back to the Light.

Finn had checked the scene across the plateau. Upwards of fifty troopers -- all still in their armour, though not as gleaming as usual -- had streamed out of their hiding place. Every other one of them was armed and they were facing the ridge, some with guns raised. A few troopers in the centre of the group appeared to be discussing something.

Finn had sighed. No more would be defecting -- not today, anyway. If one tried to make a break for it they’d be shot down.

They’d heard the message. They’d heard the voice of a Resistance droid informing a Resistance General that the man previously known as Kylo Ren had returned to the galaxy. And what did that mean for them all?

Finn shook his head as he paced up and down the Gallofree, trying to think. The ship’s comms were still messed up, so he hadn’t managed to contact Poe. He couldn’t even send a holo back to Jannah and Lando to ask them to do it. When he’d come down from the ridge and seen his friends’ faces -- and remembered the tired, hungry ex-troopers they’d already rescued, waiting in the other craft -- he’d told them to just go. He couldn’t risk the lives of the people they’d already saved, or the lives of his friends, on the slim chance that one or two more might make it across. It was clear that wasn’t going to happen.

Finn looked up and saw Rose hovering by the entrance to the cargo hold. Her face was crestfallen, her fingertips tracing anxiously over her pendant.

“Hey, it’s OK,” he said, walking over to her.

She shook her head. “It’s really not. I can’t believe I made such a mistake. If it weren’t for me, then--”

He put his hands gently on her shoulders. “Then nothing. You know what? You probably did us a favour.”

“How was this a _favour_?” she asked.

“Because the galaxy was going to find out about this sooner or later. Word travels fast, Rose -- sometimes at hyperspeed. From the minute Rey found him it was only going to be a matter of time before someone who wasn’t us found out about it. A waiting game we don't need to play now.”

“But they’re troopers, Finn. Active troopers, still serving the Final Order. As far as they’re concerned their leader has returned -- and what will they do about it?”

He pulled Rose gently towards him and after a second of stillness, he felt her relax against his chest.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But at least we know the word is out now. We can plan accordingly, get ourselves ready.”

She didn’t speak for a few moments, then leaned back to look up at him. “I’m worried, Finn.”

He nodded, and when she placed her head against his chest once more, he rested his chin softly on top of her hair. “I know. But we got this. You know we do.”

“I hope so,” she murmured.

Silently, he hoped so too. Because he didn’t fully agree with his own sentiment. He wasn’t sure what this meant either. But Rose didn’t need to know that.

~

**Ajan Kloss**

“Step one,” Poe said, unfolding his thumb from his clenched fist. “Solo, you’ve got to answer some questions.”

Ben nodded. “Anything.”

“Yeah, 'anything' is right,” Poe agreed. “There are hundreds of people on this base who fought your troops, who lost people they know and love in the effort. Some of them even fought _you_. They have questions and worries, and as their leader I can’t allow them to feel that they don’t trust this process or the way we’re going to handle it. If they’ve got things they want to know and opinions they want you to hear, then they’ll ask and you’ll answer -- clear as day.”

“Understood,” Ben said.

“Rey, that includes you.” Poe looked at her.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“People are going to be wondering why you did this. Why you felt it was safe to bring him back. Why you trust him. Most of them don’t know what happened with you two on Exegol -- whatever it was -- and they might be questioning your motivations. You need to tell them exactly what you’re thinking.”

“All right,” Rey agreed. “I can do that.” She looked at Ben, who met her gaze briefly before he turned back to Poe.

“General, I want to make it clear that I chose to come back with Rey. Whatever the outcome of people’s reactions to my return -- it’s all on me. I could have refused her and stayed where I was. The fact that I didn’t was my own choice. The buck stops with me. Not her.”

Poe looked at Ben appraisingly. “I hear you.”

“This is great progress, guys,” Beaumont said. “I really feel like we’re getting somewhere.”

“Step two?” Connix asked, before the historian derailed them any further.

Poe pointed a finger out beside his thumb. “Step two's intel. We’re going to open up a second comms team, led by Connix. They’ll be watching and listening for any talk about this. Maz,” he added, turning to her, “we need you to put feelers out too. Sooner or later word will get out about Solo and the whispers will start. For all we know there are ranks of acolytes out there just waiting for this news.”

“But we already know he didn’t return as Ren. He’s not here to resume the Final Order,” Rey reminded them all. “He’s Ben Solo.”

“And we trust you on that,” Poe confirmed, looking around at the others.

Connix, Beaumont and Chewie all nodded. Maz remained still.

“But nobody else will. _Nobody_. Final Order sympathisers will take it as read that the Battle of Exegol isn’t over. This will feel like their leader’s triumphant return even if they don’t know that their leader is -- well… no longer their leader.”

“I’m happy to make that clear, General,” Ben said. “We could transmit a galactic address.”

“No.” Poe shook his head. “Hell no. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but for now we’re not broadcasting your presence here.”

“But word _will_ get out,” Connix added. “We want to know about it when it does, and we need to have a plan for handling it.”

“Which brings me to step three.” Poe indicated with another finger. “House arrest.”

“House arrest?” Rey repeated.

“Yeah. Non-negotiable.”

“For how long?” she asked.

“As long as it needs to be. I can’t be more specific, not at this stage. As Connix said, word will be out soon enough -- not just with sympathisers, but also with our friends and allies, as well as people across the galaxy who don’t really have a dog in either fight.” Poe looked at Ben. “Solo, I have no powers to charge or sentence you for any of your crimes. But I can apprehend you, and we need to make it clear that this is the case. The cuffs we can avoid, but we can’t have you freely roaming the place as if everything you did before has been forgotten.”

Ben nodded without hesitation. “Agreed. As I said, I’ll go along with whatever you decide.”

“I appreciate your understanding.”

“I don’t!” Rey interjected. “He’s barely able to walk and you’re going to restrict him to one room until further notice?”

Poe looked at her. “Rey, there are people out there who will see this man as a war criminal. Not all of them have your understanding of who he really is -- actually, make that none of them. We are the Resistance. We cannot be seen to be harbouring a fugitive. Nor can we decide that his slate has been wiped clean on behalf of the whole galaxy.”

Rey sighed, resting her elbows on her knees, her face in her hands. “You’re right. I know you’re right.”

She looked up at Ben, who was gazing down at her. “It’s OK,” he said. “We’ll do what we need to do.”

“I didn’t think past getting you back. I didn’t think all the way through to what would happen afterwards.”

“I did,” he replied softly. He held out his hand and, sitting up, she took it. “That’s the reason why I did it. Half the reason, at least.”

“So… do you guys need a moment?” Beaumont asked, glancing around at the others. “This seems a little private to me.”

“It’s fine,” Rey said, pulling her gaze from Ben’s. “Is there a step four?”

Poe glanced at Maz. “Yeah, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

“Go ahead, General,” Ben said, sitting forward.

Maz moved over towards him, producing an amulet on a silver chain from her pocket.

“What is that?” Rey asked.

“It’s a Force blocker,” Poe answered.

“That’s not possible,” she said quickly.

“It is, but its existence has been a long-guarded secret,” said Maz. “It’s been in my possession for hundreds of years. The person who left it with me gave strict instructions for it never to be touched -- until it was required to ensure the safety of the people. The very path of our history could have been up-ended if the wrong group learned of a magic that could prevent others from using the Force.”

“And after all that time you’re telling us about it just so it can be used on Ben?” Rey’s gaze was firm as Maz looked at her.

“Child, I know this feels unjust to you. But until we know who we are really dealing with, and we see just when and how strongly the Force will be running once more through this young man’s veins, we can take no chances.” Maz held out the amulet to Ben.

“But we know the Force is weak in him. We have no idea how long it will take for it to return!” Rey said.

“Maz assures me the amulet won’t stop Solo from regaining the Force,” Poe said calmly. “It just won’t let him _access_ it -- and it goes without saying that he will not take that thing off. The doctor will still run her tests, and he’ll recover faster as the Force returns to him. He just won’t be able to wield its power. That’s the key here.”

Ben took the piece from Maz’s hands and without hesitation, slipped the chain over his neck. The amulet came to rest on his chest, rising and falling steadily as he breathed.

“Anyone else waiting for a burst of lightning or something?” Beaumont joked, to no response.

Maz placed one long finger under Ben’s chin, lifting it so that his eyes met her gaze. “When you were a youngling, Han always called you his little bandit. There were several years where I would have said he was right. Time will still tell, I suppose. But one thing about this moment is certain… You are more agreeable than your father.”

“Should we get him to test it?” Beaumont asked as Maz returned to her seat. “Make that cup move,” he said, pointing at a beaker that had been left on the dejarik table.

“We don’t need him to test it,” Poe said to the historian. “Maz knows her stuff. And we need you to, as well, Beaumont. Step five -- the dyad. We don’t know enough about it and we need to. Get looking through your books, see what you can find.”

Beaumont sat up straight. “Of course. I’ll get on it right away.”

Poe looked around. “OK. That’s it.”

Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Solo?” Poe said as he stood up to leave.

“Yes, General,” Ben responded, mirroring Poe’s movement.

“Appreciate your responsiveness to all this. Head back to the med bay for now. House arrest starts tonight.”

Ben nodded and Poe began to leave.

“Where will he stay?” Rey asked, as she and the others stood too.

Poe turned before pausing for a second. “Leia’s quarters.”

Ben hitched in a breath.

“Leia…” Rey began.

Poe’s gaze seemed to soften just a touch. “There’s nowhere else.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Ajan Kloss**

Later that afternoon, Ben walked up and down the med bay as Dr Kalonia repeated his blood test.

 _Feeling all right?_ asked Chewie. He was perched on the side of the doctor's desk, even though his weight was causing an ominous creaking noise.

"It's much better," Ben confirmed. He was able to walk faster already, and he could even rest his weight on the healed leg for a few seconds before it started to feel unsteady.

"That's what a Force-heal will do," Kalonia added. "And we're seeing improvements here too. Your midi-chlorian count is now just under seven thousand, Ben."

He nodded. "Thank you, Doctor. Do you..." He hesitated.

"Yes?"

"Do you know why it's still going up, even though the Force-heal was performed last night?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea. If I had to guess, I'd say being back in the living world must have something to do with it. Then again, I suspect that being with Rey is part of it too."

Ben nodded and said nothing.

"We'll find out more soon enough," Kalonia reassured him. "In the meantime, keep mobile. I won't need to run another test until tomorrow morning."

Ben thanked her, and he and Chewie left the med bay.

 _Go for a walk?_ Chewie asked him, in a single questioning sound.

"I don't think I should," Ben responded.

 _I have a blaster_ , Chewie said, pulling his body holster around to indicate the small weapon on the back. _I can point at you to reassure others? You put hands on head?_ Chewie recreated the movement with a raise of his hairy brow, and Ben couldn't help but laugh.

"Solo, Chewie -- heads up." They looked over and saw Poe leaning out of the comms room doorway.

Ben went still. "Is there a problem?"

"It's not going to be a welcome wagon where you're concerned, that's for sure. Finn's landing shortly. I suggest you two clear the area until we see how things stand."

~

Rose and Finn steadied themselves on their feet as the GR-75 touched down with a rattle. When the door slid open Finn was the first out, heading straight for the comms room. Luckily for him, Poe was already on his way over.

"Hey." Poe nodded. "How'd it go?"

"We've got close to two hundred ex-troopers heading in with Jannah and Lando. All of them need medical attention and a square meal."

"That's incredible. Good job, man."

"Could've been better. There was another cell there, but they weren't looking for refuge. They were looking for a fight."

"Speaking of looking for a fight, there's something you need to know..."

"I already do."

"What?" Poe frowned.

"Threepio. He commed the ship and told us what happened."

Poe rolled his eyes to the sky. "So you know about Solo?"

"Yeah. Where is he?" Finn's eyes travelled past his friend, scanning the landscape, the buildings.

"He's with Chewie. Chewie's stayed with him the whole time. We've got a plan and I'll run it past you once we get these ex-troopers off that ship."

They both heard the whine of engines and the sound of the trees whooshing in the downdraught as Jannah and Lando came in to land.

"And Rey?" Finn asked simply.

"She's good. She's fine."

Finn nodded. "I want to see her."

"She'll be wanting to see you too. But let's sort these troopers out first, huh, buddy?" Poe put a hand on his shoulder before calling back to Connix, who'd come out of the comms room to watch the landing: "Tell Kalonia she's got incoming. She'll need several pairs of hands to assist."

Connix disappeared back inside to rally the troops before re-emerging and hurrying over to the med bay.

Finn kept busy, helping the others get the ex-troopers off the ship and into the hangar where they were triaged by Kalonia. The doctor gave quick and efficient instructions, sending some of the men and women straight to the med bay while others were sent to the mess hall for a meal and a hot drink. Rose hustled back and forth amongst the crowds, overseeing the assembly of multiple camp beds at one end of the hangar, and sourcing fresh clothing for everyone.

Finn's eyes constantly travelled around the place, searching for Rey. He hadn't seen her once, nor had he seen the tall and rangy Wookiee.

"You cleared them out, didn't you?" he asked Poe, when the last of the ex-troopers had been taken into the hangar and were receiving their triage.

"Finn, we couldn't afford to have that confrontation happen next to all this. Not to mention having him visible around these guys in the first place."

"I've gotta see them. I can't wait."

Poe sighed. "OK." He turned to Kalonia. "Doc, you good?"

She waved them both away. "We're fine. The med bay's full and I've got enough helpers." Casting a quick glance between the two of them, she told them to go.

"Solo was in a bad way when he arrived," Poe explained as he and Finn left the hangar. "He needed a Force-heal -- not that he wanted it -- and the Doc's still monitoring him."

"Rose calls him Solo too," Finn said plainly.

"It's just easier, man. Referring to him as Kylo Ren isn't going to make anyone feel good."

"Do you believe that he's not? Ren, I mean?"

Poe looked at him. "I'm getting there. And I trust her."

Finn was quiet for a few moments before asking, "Why'd he refuse a Force-heal?"

"He was worried it would harm her." Poe raised an eyebrow.

Finn said nothing more as they headed away from the main base and over to the ridge by the admin building.

Poe stopped, and Finn did too.

"What?"

"Look, I..." Poe paused, unsure what to say for a minute. "I know this is hard, and I know how much she means to you. But there's something between them--"

"The dyad, I got it."

"There's a lot we still don't understand. We're looking into it, but it's pretty damn clear that they're linked. However you feel about this, it's something we can't change."

Finn nodded. "They're down in the valley?"

"Yeah."

Poe sighed, hoping for the best as he watched Finn walk down the ridge to the quiet grassy plain below.

~

"Finn!" Rey couldn't help but smile as soon as she saw him.

He held her gaze as she came towards him.

"Are you OK?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he replied. "We found people. Nearly two hundred of them. They're being looked after as we speak," he added, nodding back up to the ridge where Poe stood watching, his arms crossed.

Rey nodded. It was a long time since they'd had such a good result. "Finn, listen--"

"I heard." She watched him look past her, his gaze settling on Ben and Chewbacca.

Nobody said a word, except for a light rumble of worry that reverberated from Chewie's lips.

"So I hear we're just calling you Solo," Finn said eventually, his voice emotionless.

Ben stood completely still. "You call me whatever you need to, General."

"Oh, I would. Believe me."

More silence.

Rey looked between them before settling a hand on her friend's arm. "You can trust him, Finn."

"That's for me to decide, and only when I feel ready."

"That's fair. But he's not a danger -- I need you to know that."

Finn looked at Chewie, who was nodding his agreement. "Again, I'll decide that when I'm ready." He looked back at Ben. "You still have the Force?"

"Yes," Ben replied. "But I can't wield it."

"That's something," Finn said. "I have people to care for and a job to do, so I can't afford to be dealing with another injury like this." He turned and lifted the back of his jacket, revealing the long scar down his spine -- the one he bore as a result of their fight on Starkiller Base.

Rey took a sharp intake of breath and looked at Ben. He was completely still, though she sensed sorrow in his eyes.

Finn turned back to face the other man, his jaw held firm.

"General, I know apologies will be meaningless," Ben began.

"You're damn right they are," Finn interjected.

"But I want to assure you that whatever justice is coming to me for my actions, I will accept it without question."

"Good. Because I am not in a place where I'm going to excuse you for anything you did."

"I understand," Ben said, his voice even as Finn began to pace slowly towards him.

"Whoa -- Finn, buddy?" Poe called out, coming down the ridge behind them.

Finn's fists clenched tightly, his knuckles flexing as his eyes travelled over Ben's face. "I have one more thing to say to you," he murmured.

Ben waited as Rey hurried to stand beside them.

"Thank you for saving her life."

Rey glanced between them and as Finn turned to her, his gaze soft and his hands releasing their tension, she felt a tear escape. "Finn..."

"I'm so glad you're safe," he said, and he embraced her, feeling the dampness of her tears as she pressed her face against his shoulder. "I will never take that for granted."

Finn caught Ben's eye over her shoulder, and after a few seconds the two men exchanged the briefest of nods.

Finn let go of Rey and headed back to the ridge.

"Poe? We need to talk," he said in a low voice as he reached his friend.

"What is it?" Poe responded.

"We're not the only ones who know he's back."

~

Rey felt the shape of Finn's words inside her mind and turned to Ben, her skin suddenly chilled despite the warm temperature.

"What is it?" Ben asked, holding her gaze. "Rey?"

"I..." she began.

Instinctively, he reached out and brushed his fingers against the bare skin of her arm. She took a step towards him, touching the amulet around his neck before pressing her palm against the solid breadth of his chest.

Something felt different between them now. She felt a wrench of emotion deep inside her as she realized it was the absence of that warm prickle -- that unique sensation of the Force pulsing between them. It had gone.

But now there was something else. Something more raw that she'd felt only once before, in the turbolift on the _Supremacy_ before the death of Snoke...

"Rey?" Ben said again, his voice gentle as he took her hand.

She looked up at him and felt a wave of cold fear. "They're coming for you."


	20. Chapter 20

**Ajan Kloss**

“What do you mean? Who’s coming for me?”

Ben searched Rey’s face. Her eyes were wide, her breath uneven.

“Stormtroopers. They know you’re back.”

He glanced up to the top of the ridge, where he saw Poe and Finn deep in conversation as they headed back to the comms building. “How many?” he asked calmly.

She shook her head. “I don’t know, but Finn does. We have to do something.”

Chewie warbled a sound of concern, letting them know he would find out, and he hurried up the ridge and disappeared.

Rey turned to follow, her hand dropping from Ben’s chest, but he pulled her back to him.

“We have to go!” she urged. “We need to--”

“Hey,” he said softly, his fingers touching the side of her face ever so gently. “This was always going to happen. We knew that. It’s just a little sooner than we thought.”

“But we can’t just do nothing, we have to be prepared! Why aren’t you more concerned?”

He looked at the frown on her brow, the fierceness with which her eyes focused on his, and he couldn’t help smiling. She was ready for battle.

“Ben, this isn’t a joke,” she said between gritted teeth.

“I know. I don’t think it is. It’s just -- your strength, your will to do the right thing. Watching you like this makes me feel…” He trailed off.

“Feel what?” Her frown began to soften, as did her voice.

He swallowed. “It reminds me of you in Snoke’s throne room. Your power, your belief -- your will to fight no matter what.”

He watched her shoulders rise and fall with her breath for a few moments. Then she spoke.

“I will always protect what’s important to me.”

He felt the leap in his chest the moment she said it. He knew he meant something to her, but he never allowed himself to wonder what that might be.

“Rey…”

His fingers drifted across her cheekbone and up into her hair. He wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t want to misstep, didn’t want to make things harder than they were already going to be.

And so he took his hand away, let it drop to his side.

She moved a touch closer to him, leaving only an inch or two of space between them. He gazed down at her, realising that he was the one breathing unevenly now.

“Ben, I only just got you back. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“But there were always going to be people who don’t want this. I knew that when I agreed to come with you.”

“And so did I. But they don’t know who you really are. They don’t know that Kylo Ren is dead. That Ben Solo is alive. We can tell them.”

He closed his eyes for a second, hearing his father’s words echoed in Rey’s. “A name will never change what Kylo Ren did. What _I_ did.”

“It’s not just about your name. I know it’s not. The minute the Force connected us when I was on Ahch-To--”

“When you tried to shoot me,” he added quietly, remembering the moment as clear as day. The sense that she had wounded him had been so real, and the shock of seeing her so sharply before him -- so vivid and unexpected -- had disarmed him completely. The truth was, he hadn't been the same since that moment.

“That was instinctive,” she said.

“As it should have been.”

“But as soon as we started to communicate I felt that Kylo wasn’t all you were. He was never your true self, underneath. Ben was always there. You were always there.”

“You might know that, Rey, but nobody else will believe it.”

She looked down at the amulet again, touching it briefly and letting all but one of her fingers rest on his chest once more. They both watched her hand rise and fall as he breathed.

When he looked back into her eyes, he saw something simmering there. His gaze drifted down to her lips, and he knew she saw it. He took a step back, her palm dropping from his chest.

“You should catch up with them,” he said, glancing back up to the ridge. “They’ll want your input.”

She blinked as if to recalibrate herself. “Ben, I--”

“I’ll wait right here. If they ask, I’ll be right here.”

After a moment she nodded. He watched her walk back up to the ridge, glancing back at him one last time before she disappeared from view.

Ben sank down to the ground, resting his head in his hands. He was ready to face whatever was coming. And he would, without hesitation. He would do it if it meant that the galaxy gave Kylo Ren the justice he deserved. But knowing she would never accept it -- he felt that pain deep inside of him. He could never let her know what he was prepared to do.

~

Rey found Finn, Poe and Chewie in a small area off the comms room. Connix was flittering in and out, busy setting up the intel team.

“Where’s Solo?” Poe asked, glancing behind Rey.

“He’s still down in the valley,” she said, taking a seat.

“Alone?” Finn’s eyes widened.

“He’s not going anywhere.”

“Chewie, you mind?” Poe asked, before tensions could rise any further.

The Wookiee nodded and headed back outside to play bodyguard.

“What’s the situation?” Rey asked.

Finn frowned at her quizzically.

“I heard what you said,” she confirmed for him.

“But I was nowhere--”

“The Force, Finn.”

His lips flattened into a line. “So you can just eavesdrop on me at will, now?”

“Not all the time. We’ll work on it.” She cracked a smile, and he did too.

“Well, that’s nice to see,” Poe commented. He looked up as Connix came back into the room. “Anything yet?”

“We’ve traced a comm. It was transmitted from Shu-Torun not too long ago.”

“From who?” Finn asked quickly.

“Unclear. Beaumont says a monarch hasn’t ruled there since the queen was killed by Leia during a mission just over thirty years ago.”

Poe raised his eyebrows. “Huh. But the people still remain?”

“Looks like it -- they could be being led by a chancellor of sorts.”

“And what was the comm?” Rey asked.

“We’re still translating it all. But it appears they’re reaching out to anyone allied with the First or Final Order.”

Finn rubbed the bridge of his nose. “After we left, the troopers must have started looking for a settlement. If any of them knew Shu-Torun was once allied with the Empire then they probably figured they could get an audience with someone, based on what they’d heard about… about Solo.”

“Why didn’t they look for a settlement earlier, instead of hiding out?” Connix asked.

Finn shrugged. “They had weapons but they were outnumbered by the defectors -- that’s how it looked. Maybe they just didn’t have a plan until they heard the news.” He sat forward. “The bottom line is, it was a valuable piece of information -- they would have known how crucial it was. If they took it to the right person, their safety would be assured and they'd be rewarded.”

“So what do we do now?” Rey urged.

Finn looked at Poe. “You said you had a plan?”

Poe sighed and looked around at his friends. “Yeah, the next job was to figure out what to do when the news leaked.”

“You get to that part yet?” Finn asked tentatively.

“No,” Rey answered for him.

Connix sat down next to Rey. “The first thing we need to do is get off this planet.”

“To where?” Finn asked.

“Anywhere. It’s open knowledge that the Resistance is based here. If the troopers said the news came from a Resistance communication then the immediate assumption will be that Solo’s here.”

Poe turned to Finn. “What exactly did Threepio say?”

“That Solo was no longer presenting himself as Ren, so there’s that. But he also mentioned Rey.” He looked at her. “He made it pretty clear she was the one who brought him back,” he added gently.

Poe leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling.

“I have no problem accepting responsibility for this,” Rey said firmly. “And I’ll explain why to anyone who asks.”

“Rey,” Poe said, sitting forward, “long-time supporters of the Empire and the Final Order and a whole bunch of loyal stormtroopers aren’t going to ask for your _thoughts_ on this.”

“You’re right, they won’t. And they’re the unknown quantity. But you yourself said that our friends and allies are going to question this. They’re the ones who will listen.”

“And what, you’ll ask them to fight? To defend him?”

“I won’t ask anyone to do anything. If I have to, I’ll defend him on my own.”

“We’re getting off track here,” Connix said. “I don’t think we need to prepare for battle just yet. But we can’t stay here. We all know Ajan Kloss was never going to be a long-term option. There aren’t enough rooms to go around, the infrastructure is limited, we don’t have a good outlook in terms of tracking comings and goings in the atmosphere, and now that we have another two hundred people with us it’s even worse.”

Finn nodded. “You’re right. I think that needs to be our first move. Apart from anything else, we’ll need as much time as we can get to arrange the logistics. Anybody got any ideas where we could go?”

“Crait’s no good,” Rey said. “There was barely anything left there in the first place.”

“I think I have an idea,” Connix said after a moment or two. “We’ll have to place some comms, and I’ll need you guys to do the talking,” she added, looking at Poe and Finn.

“Shoot,” Poe said.

“We could try Chandrila. The New Republic was based there and they have a long history of supporting the original Rebel Alliance. I think they’d have everything we need and more. Also…”

“What?” Finn asked.

“Han and Leia lived there for a while when she was a senator.” Connix glanced at Rey. “It’s where Solo was born.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Ajan Kloss**

Rose flopped down on to a chair and blew out a breath, her hair wafting away from her face.

Beaumont looked up from his magnifying scanner. “Oh hey, Rose. You all right? How’d the mission go?”

“I messed up, Beaumont.”

He put the scanner down. “How? Doing what?”

Rose explained what had happened with the droid on Shu-Torun, Beaumont nodding sagely every now and then.

“Well, we all put our foot in it from time to time," he said. "Do you want to know how many times I’ve done it?”

“Please,” Rose replied, resting her elbow on the arm of the chair and plonking her chin on to her hand.

“I would put an academic estimate at sixty-seven.”

She raised her eyebrows. “That’s not as high as I thought it would be.”

“Good to know your level of confidence in me,” Beaumont said dryly. “But that was just during my studies. If we look right up to the modern day, well…” He lifted his hands up. “Who knows what the running total could be.”

She smiled and he returned the gesture, glad to have cheered her up.

“So how’s the study going? Have you found anything good?” she asked.

“Poe’s asked me to focus on researching the dyad. It’s not exactly something you see every day, and I don’t recall ever studying anything about such a concept.”

“I hope you’ll find something.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it. There’s got to be a mention somewhere. And actually, that diary of Ben Kenobi’s has a few things that might help.”

Rose perked up. “Really? Like what?”

Beaumont retrieved the papers from a leather wallet and spread a few of them out on the desk in front of him. “So Kenobi was charged with taking Luke Skywalker to Tatooine right after he was born. It was the Jedi Council’s plan -- well, what was left of it -- to keep Luke and Leia safe from the Empire. She was adopted by the Organas and went to live on Alderaan, as we know, and Luke was returned to their mother’s side of the family. Kenobi made his home not too far away, to keep an eye on him.”

Rose came over and looked at the papers over Beaumont’s shoulder. “And he wrote about Luke’s childhood?”

“Not as such. I haven’t finished reading yet, but he only mentions Luke every now and then -- and never by name. Just as ‘the boy’.”

“Probably a good idea. So what sort of things did he write about?”

“Most of it so far is notes of his experiments with Force visits -- from the other side…” Beaumont trailed off with a dramatic flourish.

“The Dark Side?” Rose asked nervously.

Beaumont looked at her. “No. The _other_ side. He was seeing if he could make contact with his old Jedi Master from the beyond -- a chap called Qui-Jinn Gong. No, wait." He shuffled the papers. "Qui-Gon Jinn.”

“I can't believe they didn’t know about Force visits. This was, what, sixty standard years ago?”

“Yeah, something like that. It sounds as though Master Yoda of the Jedi Council had made some early incursions into the phenomena and before Kenobi left, he asked him to work on it further while he was on Tatooine. To be fair, I don’t think there was much else to do while he was there.”

Rose leant back against the desk and crossed her arms. “I don't see how that relates to the dyad.”

“Ah, but this is where it gets interesting.” Beaumont lifted a finger to emphasise his point. “So after a while Kenobi finally made contact with this Jinn fellow, and over time he wrote down notes of all the conversations they had. One was about the prophecy of the Chosen One.”

“Prophecy? From where?”

“Nobody really knows, but it was recorded many years ago -- years before Luke and Leia were born. It predicted that one day there would be a ‘Chosen One’ through whom the balance of the Force would be restored. From the sounds of it, Jinn had spent time studying the prophecy and was convinced it pointed towards Anakin Skywalker.”

“Vader...” Rose breathed.

“I know, right?” Beaumont agreed, his voice becoming more animated. “So going back in time a bit, Jinn meets young Anakin Skywalker -- on Tatooine, of all places. He comes to believe he’s the Chosen One and takes him under his wing, starts to train him and all that -- but the Jedi Council aren’t sure. There’s something _edgy_ in the boy, something they don’t feel right about. _And then…_ ”

Rose leaned forward. “What? Beaumont, I don’t know this part of the story!”

He laughed. “I know, that’s why it’s fun to be the one to tell it.”

She picked up a pen and poked him in the side with it as she spoke: “What? Happened? Next?”

“OK, stop! So Anakin’s in the midst of his early training when out of the blue -- Jinn dies.”

Rose gasped. “No! How?”

“In a lightsaber battle with a Sith Lord.”

She stood up. “Oh, I don’t like this. I don’t want to know any more.”

“OK, I won’t make it so dramatic. I’ll get back to the point.”

“I’m serious, Beaumont,” she said, and he could tell by the expression on her face that she was. “When we were growing up, the kids on Hays Minor used to tell scary stories about Sith Lords and I always hated it. I don’t want to hear any more.”

"OK, OK," Beaumont said calmly. He stood and held his palms up in surrender. “I promise I won’t say any more about the Sith.”

She sighed and crossed her arms again. “Fine. But stick to the nice stuff.”

“Well, I’ll do what I can -- I mean, Anakin’s stuff is pretty dark…”

“Do your best,” Rose said firmly.

“All right,” he said, sitting down. “So, Ben Kenobi -- or Obi-Wan, as he was called then -- takes over training Anakin. Time goes on, Anakin grows up, he falls in love with Queen Amidala of Naboo, and right after he turns fully to the Dark Side, the children are born. All right so far?”

Rose nodded. “Well, after some time on Tatooine, Kenobi finally manages to get this Force visit working with Jinn from the beyond, and they begin talking. The first bit’s really sad, actually -- Kenobi has all this deep regret about how he couldn’t save Jinn, and Jinn’s really peaceful about it all. Anyway -- the point of the story. Kenobi decides to ask Jinn if he still believes Anakin was the Chosen One from the prophecy.”

“And?”

“I haven’t got to that part yet.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Beaumont, you said you’d found something!”

“I have!” he reiterated. “I haven’t reached the part where Kenobi actually asks the question -- if he even ended up doing it. I, er… hadn’t actually thought about how disappointing it’ll be if he never did…” Beaumont shook himself. “Anyway, Kenobi wrote down his own thoughts about the Chosen One business. He thought maybe the prophecy was misunderstood -- that maybe it mightn’t be this ‘Chosen One’ who would bring balance to the Force, but that they would instead reveal the _path_ towards it. The prophecy was worded in a way that said balance would be achieved _through_ the Chosen One. Not necessarily _by_ them.”

“Meaning… the children?”

Beaumont nodded. “Perhaps. Kenobi seemed to think it could be Luke or Leia -- or even both of them -- who would be the ones to bring balance to the Force. Not their father. Maybe Anakin would lay the foundations by bringing the children into the world with Queen Amidala, but he would not be ‘the one’.”

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Rose murmured, nodding. “And you? Do you think he was right?”

“I am but a mere historian, Rose Tico -- Jedi prophecies weren’t aimed at guys like me, as much as we love to assess them. But I think it makes sense. If Luke and Leia were meant to be the real balance -- the Chosen Two, if you will, then…”

“Then it means the Force was looking for two people to create balance, not one," Rose said. "You can create balance on one counterpoint, but it will always be tipping back and forth. There has to be two sides to make it fair.”

“Got it,” Beaumont said, rapping the desk with his hands. “That’s what I’m thinking. You need two, not one. And that’s how we can connect it to the dyad. Rey and Solo.”

Rose thought about it for a few moments. “But doesn’t that mean…?”

“What? Tell me,” Beaumont asked.

“The Force has two sides, right? Light and dark.”

Beaumont nodded.

“So if the Force needs to be balanced, then shouldn’t one side be dark and one light? If it’s all light -- or all dark -- then there’s no balance.”

“Yeah. That’s the mystery,” Beaumont agreed, and then he noticed the look of worry on Rose’s face. He sat forward. “What is it?”

She looked around before leaning down towards him and speaking in a low voice. “If it’s the dyad that’s meant to provide balance -- or the Force wants it to provide balance -- then doesn’t that mean that Rey and Solo need to share light and dark? Surely it won’t work otherwise.”

Beaumont sat back, thinking. “I’ve wondered that myself. When Solo was Ren, he was dark -- no question about it. Agree?”

Rose nodded.

“And Rey was most definitely light. At that point they were balanced. I mean, sure, it created chaos, but still. And now…” He trailed off.

“Ben turned to the light on Exegol. He helped her fight Palpatine and he gave his life to save her, all by turning from the dark. The dyad became fully light.”

“So no longer balanced…” Beaumont mused.

There was silence for a few moments.

“Beaumont,” Rose said, “do you think that means the Dark Side will start rising somewhere else? If the Force senses it’s out of balance, I mean. Or do you think there’s a real risk that either Ben or Rey -- or both of them -- could be tempted by the dark?”

He sighed. “I’ve no idea. But it could be a real possibility, and I think we’re going to have to talk about that.”

They looked at each other for a few seconds before speaking almost in perfect unison.

“ _Not me!_ ”

“ _Not me!_ ”

Beaumont clapped his hands to his face. “Ugh, you beat me by about a second.”

“Hey, you’re the one doing the research. You’re the one who’s going to have to ask them.” Rose moved behind his chair and squeezed his shoulders. “I’ll see you later.”

Beaumont watched her leave. He picked up his magnifying scanner and looked down at the diary papers with a sigh.

“Thanks, Kenobi. Thank you _very_ much indeed…”


	22. Chapter 22

**Ajan Kloss**

Rey and Poe stood behind Ben as he looked through the doorway into Leia’s quarters.

“We haven’t moved anything since she…” Poe began. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Rey as though asking for help.

She took a step forward and put her hand on Ben’s back. “Are you OK?”

He nodded but said nothing. She couldn’t see his face.

“So, uh, the Doc wants you back in the morning for another blood test,” Poe continued. “Someone’ll come along to get you when it’s time.”

Ben turned to look at Poe. “Thank you.”

Poe hesitated for a moment, looking at the door.

“What?” Rey asked. Her eyes widened. “You’re thinking about locking it, aren’t you?”

“House arrest means restriction of movement, Rey.”

“This house arrest is starting to sound a lot like a full imprisonment,” she grumbled.

“Lock it, General,” Ben said. “I would prefer it if you did.”

“Ben, wait,” Rey said, as he backed into the room.

“I’ll give you two a moment,” Poe said, turning to walk down the corridor.

“No, you can go,” Rey said. “I’ll lock the door.”

Poe held her gaze for a second before nodding and disappearing out of the quarters building.

She watched silently as Ben’s gaze travelled around the room. Leia’s gowns hung on a rail in the corner. Next to that was a chest, on top of which sat a wooden tray that held some of her jewellery.

Rey felt her heart ache. She could see Leia at the forefront of her mind, wearing these things, talking to her, imparting her knowledge about the Force. It didn’t feel all that long ago, and yet…

“Ben?” Rey said softly.

“I was too late,” he murmured. “Everything was too late.”

She stood beside him and rested her head against his upper arm. His muscles felt taut with tension. “She knew you’d turned to the light.”

He looked down at her. “How can you know that?”

“I don’t, not for certain,” Rey said honestly, after a moment. “But I feel it. I think she held on until she knew for certain. That you’d come back.”

Rey felt Ben’s body tremble as he took in a shuddering breath. She heard the catch in his throat.

“I wanted so much to tell her I was sorry.”

“She’ll know.” Rey lifted her head then, looking at him. “Maybe one day you’ll be able to tell her.”

His jaw worked as he glanced down at the amulet.

“One day that amulet will come off. The Force will return to you and I think she’ll be the first person you see.”

“How can you be so sure? You believe so strongly there will come a day when things can be better.”

She raised a hand to his face. “I do. You made a sacrifice and the Force let you do it, but it didn’t take you in exchange. It allowed you to return, Ben. I believe there’s a reason for that. You’re meant to be here.”

He touched her hand with his own, his palm and fingers so much larger than hers as they intertwined, and she felt a ripple of awareness run through her.

Rey brushed her thumb over his beard, and he closed his eyes. She took a step closer, just a little, until her body met his. Up on to her tiptoes she stretched, and as she came nearer, he opened his eyes and held her gaze.

“Rey, we…”

“What?” she whispered, just inches away from him.

“I don’t know that this is a good idea,” he replied, his voice unsteady.

“Doesn’t it feel like one?”

He didn’t answer, but she felt his other arm move around her, pressing against the small of her back. His gaze moved from her eyes to her mouth. It travelled over her face just as it had in that moment when she’d opened her eyes on Exegol and found herself in his arms, the battle won, the turning complete.

“Ben?” she said softly.

“Yes,” he murmured, his hand moving to the nape of her neck, his fingers sifting gently through her hair.

“I want you to kiss me.”

He didn’t reply. Instead he pulled her closer. His face was all she could see, even when she let her eyes drift shut -- and then she felt his lips on hers.

His skin was warm, his scent somewhere between black pepper and rainfall. And as his mouth moved against hers, she opened her lips and felt his breath enter her body and soul.

She murmured a sound of surprise, of happiness. "Ben..." she murmured against his lips.

Her hands tightened on his arms, the solid weight of his shoulders. They raced to his neck, her fingertips searching for more and more of him to touch.

His grip tightened around her. “Rey, you’re…”

She felt him speak the words against her skin, his mouth moving from her lips to her jaw. Then against her throat.

Again he said, “Rey, wait, you--”

“What?” she sighed.

“I can’t hold you,” he finally managed to say, his voice low.

She felt his arms tighten around the base of her back and she opened her eyes, breathing fast. When she looked around, the room looked different, as though her perspective had changed. Glancing down, she saw Ben below her, his eyes shining like the darkest fire. One of his arms was wrapped around her hips, the other holding on to her waist. She gasped and braced herself, her hands on top of his shoulders.

“You started to rise up off the ground. I don’t…”

He didn’t finish, his breath heavy as he looked up at her. Slowly she started to descend, her body sliding down against his until her feet touched the floor.

He rested his forehead against hers. “What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

“Are you OK?”

“Yes,” she breathed, smiling as she looked into his eyes. “I’ve never… felt that.”

He smiled too then, before moving back a little and bringing his hand to her face. “Did you feel safe?”

She closed her eyes for a second, still trying to regain her breath. “Yes – safe, strong… I felt like I could do anything. Did you...?”

“I felt you, Rey,” he said. “All I could feel was you.”

“It was the Force between us -- you can’t feel it, can you?”

“No. But I can feel everything else,” he murmured.

“This is strange,” she said, running her hands over his back, feeling his muscles flex beneath her palms as he tightened his embrace around her.

He nodded, and after a few moments he said, “I don’t think this is what house arrest was meant to mean.”

“No,” she said, a small laugh escaping her lips, and then she gasped, suddenly remembering that the door was open.

“Anybody could have seen,” Ben said, stepping away from her as she glanced towards the corridor. “We shouldn’t have done that.”

“It will be different soon,” she said, moving towards him again. “We won’t be here for much longer.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ll be moving to a new base soon.” She paused. “Ben, how that felt…”

He said nothing, just gazed down at her as she closed the distance between them again.

“If that’s the power I can feel when I’m with you, when we’re like that…” She took a shaky breath. “When you’re allowed to use the Force again, what do you think that will mean?”

His hands settled on the small of her back; he seemed unable to resist touching her again. “I don’t know,” he replied quietly. “I’ve never felt anything like that. Even with the Force.”

“No. Nor have I…” she murmured.

As Rey left the room, duly locking the door behind her, the question was left unanswered. The truth was, neither of them really knew what it could mean.


	23. Chapter 23

**Ajan Kloss**

Ben woke to a clunk and the sound of metal grating against concrete.

"Time to see the Doc, Solo."

Ben stood up from the rush matting on the floor.

"You slept there all night?" Poe asked, frowning.

"Yeah." Ben shook out and re-folded the small blue blanket he'd used as a pillow. He placed it carefully back on the chair in the corner. "Didn't feel right to be anywhere else."

Poe nodded. "Yeah, look -- about this. I know it must be strange--"

"It's fine, General," Ben said. "Don't worry about it. Med bay?" he asked, coming to the doorway.

"Not quite. This way." Poe led him out of the quarters building. "Doc's going to see you elsewhere today. The med bay is full of ex-stormtroopers and we thought it best you don't just turn up in there."

"Understood. Where did you find them? If you don't mind me asking."

"They were hiding out on Shu-Torun and it sounds like we got to them just in time."

Ben followed Poe into another space just off the comms room, where Doctor Kalonia was waiting.

"Morning, Ben," she said, indicating a seat at the table.

He nodded a greeting to her and sat quietly while she took another sample of his blood. "How are they doing?" he asked, as she plugged the vial into the back of her datapad.

"Who?"

"The men and women in your care. Are they OK?"

She appraised him for a moment. "They've certainly been better, considering the cuts and bruises and some of the blaster-bolt injuries they incurred. Mostly they're just malnourished and exhausted."

"Can I do anything?" he asked, looking between Kalonia and Poe as they exchanged a glance.

"Yeah, don't show your face until we know what to tell them," Poe replied.

Ben nodded.

"Interesting results today," Kalonia said. "It seems your recovery is speeding up. Midi-chlorian level is now hovering just over ten thousand. That's an increase of more than three thousand since yesterday afternoon."

"Any idea what level we're expecting him to settle at?" Poe asked.

Kalonia shook her head. "I don't have any records on him beyond the ones that Leia kept, which only go as far as toddlerhood."

"Solo, you know where you should finish up?"

"The last time I was tested..." Ben hesitated for a moment.

"Yes?" Kalonia urged, fingers poised over her datapad.

"It was at the temple."

"What temple?" Poe asked.

"Luke's temple," Ben said quietly. "The last time I remember having the midi-chlorian test was there. All the students had it done."

"Any chance we can track down those records?" Poe asked the doctor.

She shook her head. "To my knowledge, the temple was destroyed in a fire. There would be nothing left of any records, and certainly not now."

Ben rubbed a hand over his jaw and took a deep breath. "Something you should know first. In the interests of transparency."

"Go on," Poe said uneasily, his arms crossed.

"It's my fault the temple fell. Something happened and I... I lost control. It wasn't just a fire. It was intentional destruction."

" _Your_ intention?"

Ben paused for a moment, holding Poe's gaze. "Yes."

"No. It wasn't."

The three of them glanced to the doorway, where Rey stood.

"Rey, I destroyed that temple," Ben said calmly, even though his pulse raced as soon as he looked at her. "I can't pretend otherwise."

She tore her gaze away from him and looked at Poe. "The only pretence here is that he's not telling you the whole truth."

"That so, huh?" Poe looked at Ben. "What happened to transparency, Solo? This whole thing is going to go a lot harder if I can't even trust you myself, let alone try and convince anyone else to do so too."

"General, I'm telling you, I destroyed that temple."

"No, Ben, you didn't!"

"Rey, if you weren't there then perhaps--" Kalonia began gently.

"You're right, I wasn't," Rey interrupted. "But I know Ben's story. I know what happened between him and Luke at the temple." She took a breath. "Luke tried to kill him."

"Rey," Ben said, in what sounded like a warning tone.

"Wait -- Luke Skywalker tried to kill his own nephew? That's what you're saying here?" Poe demanded.

Rey went towards Ben. "Yes. He sensed darkness inside of him, and in a moment of misjudgement he pulled his lightsaber. His ultimate fear was that Ben would be Vader all over again." She put her hand on his shoulder. "Ben defended himself and in the heat of the moment the temple fell. But what he's not telling you is that he'd been hearing the voice of Snoke in his mind for years until that point. He--"

"Rey, stop," Ben said through gritted teeth.

"People need to understand what really happened. Why you became Kylo Ren. If the temple is where it really started, then--"

"Rey, _no_!" His voice was firm, loud.

Silence fell as he stood quickly and walked to the corner of the room. He braced his hands against the wall and leaned forward, staring at the ground.

"Head back to the med bay, Doc," Poe instructed calmly. Kalonia nodded, disappearing out of the door and closing it behind her.

Ben took a breath, his shoulders heaving with the effort. He turned to look at Poe. "My apologies, General."

"I don't think it's me who needs the apology, Solo."

Ben glanced at Rey, barely able to control his emotions as he looked into her eyes. "Rey, I didn't mean--"

She moved towards him. "Stop. Never apologise for who you are, for what happened to you."

"But I can't just blame everything I did on Snoke, on Palpatine."

Poe watched them, listening carefully.

"Kylo did terrible things, I know," she said, moving closer to Ben. "But you are a victim. Tortured even as a young boy with insidious thoughts throughout your life, twisted into thinking things that weren't true -- and the whole time you didn't know you were being pulled to the Dark Side as part of a plan." She put her arms around him then, watching his jaw tremble with the effort of controlling his emotions. "That's what I want people to understand. You were living with Snoke -- with Palpatine -- inside your mind. Everything you did as Kylo was planted by him and suggested by him. He calculated everything to hurt you until you couldn't take it any more and turned on everyone who loved you. Ben, you would never have done any of those things alone."

She sighed as his arms came around her tightly, like he was searching for a port in a storm. He buried his face into her shoulder, his warm breath touching her skin, her hair. For a few moments, their breathing was the only sound in the room.

"Solo, listen..." Poe began.

Ben let go of Rey, stepping back from her and running a hand over his face. He looked up at Poe.

"We all have pasts we'd rather leave behind. Things we'd like to forget, so nobody ever has to know about them."

Ben swallowed, listening.

"Nobody here judges somebody else by their past. Stormtrooper, scavenger, spice runner, smuggler, thief... We don't see our friends for who they used to be. Now, granted, nobody's got a past quite like yours and it sounds like there's a lot we don't know. But one thing I know for damn sure is that your mother would have taken you back any time."

Ben looked down then, pushing his hands into his pockets and steeling his muscles tightly.

Poe stepped forward, bracing his hands on the back of a chair. "This Resistance followed Leia Organa into battle again and again, even when hope was at its worst -- and every one of these people would have taken a saber-strike for her if it'd come to it. Each day I lead this Resistance in honour of her, inspired by her bravery and resolve. If she never stopped wanting you home, no matter what, then what is her legacy to this Resistance if they can't understand that?"

Rey gave Poe a grateful nod, tears shining in her eyes, before turning towards Ben. Her arms snaked around his waist, her hands linking together at his hip. She rested her head against his shoulder and after a second's thought, Ben looked down at her. Unable to stop himself, he turned in her embrace, took her face gently in his hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

The lights flickered and hummed, brightening like the light of twin suns. They returned to their usual luminosity only as Ben's lips left Rey's skin.

"Huh."

They both looked at Poe, whose eyebrows were raised.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Ben stepped back from Rey, palms held upwards.

"Solo, don't kid yourself. If you hadn't done that, I can see she would have." He narrowed his eyes at Rey in good humour. "That little magic trick might explain what happened after I left the quarters building last night."

"What do you mean?" Rey asked.

"A few minutes after I left you two, our whole comms system glitched and then went down. Two droids who were plugged in for resets came to life and had to be mechanically restrained in the hangar. We thought it was because of an electrical surge."

Rey glanced at Ben, a flush decorating her cheeks.

Poe smirked. "I'm starting to think this dyad might be strong enough to power a whole city. Good news for our new base, I guess."

Ben looked between them, at a loss for words.

A knock at the door. "General?"

"Doc, you OK?" Poe asked, turning as Kalonia entered the room.

"I was thinking about the records from the temple. I think I know how to trace them." She glanced at Ben and after a minute he realised what she must be thinking.

"Of course -- Artoo. He was at the temple; he might have them in his databank."

The doctor nodded.

Poe threw up his hands. "Progress," he said. "Doc, I'll come with you. I've got a theory on why this guy's midi-chlorian count is rising faster than we thought."

He followed Kalonia out of the room, his head shaking as he threw a furtive smile at Ben and Rey.


	24. Chapter 24

**Royal Palace, Shu-Torun**

"Your guests will be arriving imminently, Chancellor. Would you like me to prepare the banqueting hall?"

Barrus Thorne didn't bother looking at the guard. "No," he replied, as he stared out of the window at the glowing magma in the distance. "We must discuss options immediately. If we allow these ingrates to dine at our expense then we won't receive their utmost attention. They may receive sustenance only as a reward, once business has been conducted."

The guard bowed, the flames from the grand fireplace glinting off his golden armour plating. "As you wish, Chancellor."

Thorne heard the door close behind him. "And so we prepare to rise again," he murmured to himself.

In all his years as a royal envoy, then a Chancellor to both the King and his daughter -- the much-missed Queen Trios -- Barrus Thorne had never spoken badly of the Emperor. He had never hesitated in his personal support for Palpatine and his efforts in gaining control of the galaxy -- and yet the old man's quest for power had been thwarted once more. The cloning business had been years in the making. It had involved underground Sith loyalists, servants of the Empire and all manner of secret machinations, and yet when it had come to the crux -- with all the fleets massed and ready for battle on Exegol -- Palpatine had been bested and the galaxy had fallen once again to the power of the Light Side.

Too long had they fought to regain control, only to lose it to a would-be Jedi... Thorne had been convinced the fight would be easier this time, with no Skywalkers to stand in their way, and yet it appeared that was no longer the case. Against all odds, the last Skywalker had risen again. Not only that, but he had returned to the Resistance fold, denouncing all that he had stood for as the so-called Supreme Leader. The man had betrayed the cause for which he had been trained. As far as Thorne was concerned, it was nothing less than mutiny.

And now that Thorne himself was in possession of this most valuable piece of information, he was going to capitalise on it in the most rewarding of ways. He had a chance to lead the Sith loyalists -- without the so-called command of an outdated Lord who was well beyond his capabilities -- in a new fight.

This time, he would be at the forefront of whatever remained of the Empire. And the galaxy would be rid of the Skywalkers for good.

~

**Ajan Kloss**

Raindrops hammered down on the buildings, disturbing the recovering ex-troopers from their afternoon naps. It had been a good standard month since the last rainstorm, and as the crops in the meadows beyond the valley had been suffering in the incessant sunlight, the deluge was a welcome one.

Connix burst into the comms room, water dripping from her hair on to her jacket. Shucking it off, she hung it on the back of a chair and went over to the desk. After she'd checked for any incoming central transmissions, of which there were none, she began to undo the circular braid from around her head.

"Connix, can we--"

She turned and saw Poe in the doorway, his expression blank.

"Can we what?" she asked, working her fingers through the braid until her hair fell loose around her shoulders.

"Your hair..."

She frowned, running her hands through it now that it was completely loose, trying to squeeze out some of the rainwater. "What about it?"

"It's, er -- longer than I thought."

"OK...?" she answered, confused. "Is there a problem? What did you want?"

"Not to see you with your hair like that," he said, without thinking.

Connix raised her eyebrows. "Well, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, _General_. Was there something important that you wanted me for?"

"You... I wanted--" he began, before looking at the floor. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath.

" _Poe_."

He looked up at her in surprise. "You're first-naming me?"

"Normally I wouldn't, but you're not making any sense. What do you want?" she asked, turning away from him and sitting down at the comms console.

Poe rubbed his face with both hands now that she couldn't see him. "Yes, there was -- there is. We need to get things in motion for this base move. Can you set up a link to Chandrila?"

Her hands flew over the buttons on the desk as he sat down next to her. "Of course I can."

"Who's in charge over there right now?"

"That I'm not too sure about, but I can guess who might know."

As she turned to get up from her seat, the ends of her hair flicked around in a circle and hit Poe in the face. "Did I get you?" she asked, turning back to look at him over her shoulder.

"No, I... It's fine." He rubbed the rainwater from his eye. "It's irrelevant."

"You're on a roll today," she replied dryly. "First you call my hair inconvenient and next it's irrelevant. Now I know why Leia always recommended braids."

As he watched her lean out of the comms room and into one of the offshoot rooms, he blinked and wondered what was wrong with him.

"Threepio!" she called out.

"Lieutenant Connix! At your service, as always, and pleased to be so!" The golden droid hurried into the comms room after her.

"Threepio, who's governing Chandrila at the moment?" Poe asked as Connix sat back down.

"Well, General, for many years, it was of course the admirable Mon Mothma -- a most eminent leader. Mistress Leia always--"

"We don't need the history right now, OK?" Poe cautioned. "We just need to know who's at the top."

"Let me see. My last knowledge entry registers a senator named Aria Malcolm -- although it would seem there is no record of her after the First Order's horrific destruction of Hosnian Prime. If I may, General, it's my belief she may have perished in the event, and should that be so, then I am unaware of her replacement."

Connix and Poe exchanged a glance.

"Well, let's try anyway." Poe gestured to the console. "It's the best we can do for now, without travelling to the planet itself to see who's still there."

She nodded. "I'll find the link for the old Senate House, see if we get anywhere with that."

"Great. I'll go grab Finn. Thanks, Threepio," Poe said as he jumped up, clapping the droid on his shoulder-piece.

Poe left the comms room to look for his co-General, scrubbing his hands through his hair as he walked briskly through the rain. "What was that about...?" he muttered under his breath.

"What was what?"

He looked up to see Beaumont in the doorway of the quarters building, a datapad in his hands.

"Oh, the--" Poe pointed back towards the comms building and then shook his head, drops of water falling from his hair. "Nothing. You seen Finn?"

Beaumont pointed back over his own shoulder with his thumb. "Right here. I was suggesting we talk about this dyad business."

Finn appeared in the doorway. "Hey. Need me?"

"Yeah, we're going to try contacting Chandrila. Connix is just setting up the comm link."

"Got it." Finn squeezed past Beaumont.

"So, about the dyad," the historian began. "I think it might be a good idea if we sat down and--"

"We'll come get you when we're done, Beaumont," Finn said, and he followed Poe back to the comms room.

Connix turned in her seat as they came in, C-3PO hovering behind her. Poe noticed that her hair was starting to dry in soft waves.

"Ready to go. Just say the word," she said as the two men sat down on either side of her.

Finn nodded. "Let's do it."

Connix initiated the comms link and they all heard the static hitch, before it began buzzing and clicking.

After about a minute of no response, Finn caught Poe's eye. He shrugged as if to say it had been worth a try.

" _...receiving. I repeat, receiving. Please identify_."

They all sat up as the voice echoed through the console.

"Yes, hi," Finn replied immediately. "This is General Finn and General Dameron of the Resistance. We need to speak with..." His eyes widened and he trailed off, realizing he didn't know who they were trying to reach.

"Aria Malcolm," Poe finished. "Requesting contact with Senator Aria Malcolm."

The static buzzed a little louder. Another minute went by.

"Hello? Can you still hear us?" Finn asked.

Silence, but for a few more electronic clicks and hisses.

"It could be the rain," Connix whispered, resting her elbows on the desk, her chin in her hands. "We might have to try again when it clears up."

" _Please repeat identification_ ," the voice echoed through the console.

"Generals Finn and Dameron of the Resistance," Finn repeated loudly.

" _Please wait_ ," the voice said after a moment.

Poe and Finn looked at each other.

" _Hello? Generals?_ " a different voice said amid the static -- a female this time.

"Yes, we can hear you," Poe responded.

" _Please confirm you are aware... deaths of many Senate members... the targeting of Hosnian Prime_."

"Yes, we're aware. We were hoping that Senator Malcolm was not among the lost -- that perhaps she was off-planet at the time? Can you confirm?"

The static popped as the rain thundered down outside.

" _Can neither... deny_ ," the voice said, its clarity dropping in and out.

"This is getting worse," Connix muttered.

" _Please confirm presence... whereabouts of Resistance General Leia Organa_ ," the voice said suddenly.

Connix sat back as Finn and Poe looked at each other.

Poe sighed. "I am sad to report the death of General Organa. She passed shortly before the battle of Exegol," he said, slowly and clearly.

Silence. Then a loud click, followed by a low hissing noise.

"Did we lose them?" Finn asked.

Poe shrugged, looking at Connix.

" _I am sorry... hear that_ ," the voice said. " _Leia was... formidable woman... taught me everything I know_."

The three of them sat up quickly, glancing at each other. Poe was about to reply when the static and hiss completely disappeared, and the disembodied female voice came through the console as clear as day.

" _This is Senator Aria Malcolm. Forgive the subterfuge, Generals. As far as people are aware, the entire Galactic Senate was destroyed on Hosnian Prime. The surviving senators and I thought it best to keep our existence quiet until the dust settled after the battle of Exegol_."

Finn grinned at both Poe and Connix. "Senator Malcolm, thank you. We're glad to hear of your safety."

" _Thank you_ ," the senator replied. " _I presume you're making contact with the intent of exploring a restructure? It's something we've been working on and we'd be pleased to have your input_."

"Yes, of course," Poe confirmed. "We'd be happy to help. Although I do need to make it clear, Senator, that wasn't our first priority in contacting you."

" _Oh? Then to what do we owe the pleasure, General?_ "

Poe caught Finn's eye and they both took a deep breath in hope as he began to speak. "We're currently stationed at an outpost on Ajan Kloss but we're running out of space and our infrastructure can't support us all. We have teams on outreach missions and we've already retrieved hundreds of battle survivors. Senator, we know it's a lot to ask, but we need to relocate both the Resistance and these people. Is this something that can be facilitated on Chandrila?"

A few moments of silence passed.

" _I'll need to discuss it with my team, but speaking for myself, I don't see this being a problem. What do you need?_ "


	25. Chapter 25

**Ajan Kloss**

"I'm feeling good about this, Poe," Finn said as they headed back out of the comms room to find Beaumont.

"Me too. You ever been to Chandrila?"

"Never. You?"

Poe shook his head. "The sooner we can get everyone out of this place, the better."

"I'll take point on the ex-troopers and cargo if you can handle the transports?" Finn suggested.

"Sounds good to me."

They found Beaumont in the mess hall, filling two huge mugs with caf. "I don't get on well with rain," he said by way of an excuse. "Will the new base be on a dry planet? Please say yes."

"If all goes well, it'll be _mild and temperate_ ," Finn said, smiling.

"Phew. One less worry off my mind."

"How many worries you got, Beaumont?" Poe asked.

"Well, Rose and I are a bit concerned about what this dyad business might mean. Is now a good time to talk?"

"That's why we came to find you."

The three of them headed for the admin base, where Rose was pulling books out of yet another one of Maz's salvaged trunks.

"Hey, guys. That for me?" She looked longingly at one of the steaming mugs of caf.

"Sure is." Beaumont handed it to her.

The four of them sat around the desk and Beaumont began to explain the theory he and Rose had discussed.

"So you think the Force decided that Rey and Solo should be bonded so they can battle the rise of the Dark Side?" Finn asked after a while.

"Potentially." Beaumont nodded.

"But Rose is worried that the dyad means one of them has to be swayed to the dark and one to the light?"

Rose held out her hands, palms up. "It's just a guess. If we're talking about balance then you need two halves. Either they're meant to balance the Force between themselves, or they balance it as a unit against... something or someone else."

Poe dragged his hand over his jaw as he thought about the implications. "The Force wasn't balanced when Solo was dark and Rey was light," he mused. "It only led us to war."

Finn nodded his agreement. "So it doesn't make sense for that to be the purpose of the dyad."

"And with Solo now turned to the Light Side, then the dyad itself is fully light. That's got to be a good thing, right?" Poe suggested, glancing around at the others.

"I'd say so," Beaumont agreed, Rose nodding beside him.

"Finn?" Poe asked.

"I guess," Finn said, leaning back in his chair. "I can't lie to you guys, this is hard for me to accept. I'm sure I'll get there eventually, but for now..."

"It's OK. We understand," Rose said to him.

"So if we assume the dyad falls on the Light Side of the Force, and that it's a powerful thing--" Beaumont began, only to be interrupted by Poe.

"From what I've seen, it's way stronger than we thought."

"What do you mean?" Finn asked.

"Just from observation: the midi-chlorians and everything. I think the power they can create from being united on one side is something we've never seen before. It's not just a matter of them 'having' the Force. Something much more potent happens when they're together."

Finn sighed and sat forward. "OK," he said, "so what do we do with that? What can they do as a unit when they're both already strong as hell by themselves?"

"The mind boggles," Beaumont said, putting a finger to his lips and raising his eyebrows.

"We could ask them to find out," Rose proposed.

"Like an experiment?" Poe asked.

She nodded. "Why not? They must be wondering too. I know you've blocked Solo from using the Force but that can't be a long-term solution. Not if he's got to integrate back into society at some point. I'm just being realistic here," she added.

"No, you're right," Finn said, nodding as he met her gaze. "The amulet is just a temporary measure while we figure out a long-term solution." He looked at Poe. "We can't do that if we don't even know what we're dealing with. We need to know what the dyad can do."

"So -- what? The amulet comes off?" Beaumont asked, glancing between the two Generals.

"It's going to have to," Poe agreed, somewhat reluctantly. "But this needs to be locked down. Nobody can witness it. Command eyes only."

They all nodded.

"Should I go and tell them?" Rose asked after a few moments.

"No," Finn said, getting up. "I'll go."

~

Finn took his time walking back to the quarters building in the rain, feeling the cool water dripping down the back of his neck and down his collar. The air was still close and warm, so in many ways the soaking felt like a relief.

He headed for Rey's quarters and knocked softly on the door. "Hey, you there?"

"Come in," he heard her call.

When he walked in she was tying her hair up into a high bun. She turned to him and smiled. "I've been drenched twice today. You look as though you have been too."

"Yeah." He ran his hand over his hair once, from back to front, causing a small avalanche of droplets to fall on to the rush matting.

"I'm glad you're here; I wanted to talk to you. About this stormtrooper cell."

"Don't worry, we're handling it," he said, acknowledging her expression of concern.

"I know, but please tell me what's happening. How many were there? Did they have transports?"

"Didn't look like much more than fifty, and no, they were in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a few weapons."

She put her hands on her hips and nodded. "All right, that's not so bad. What do you know about Shu-Torun -- is there anywhere for them to seek support on-planet?"

"We're looking into it," he said, not revealing the fact that they'd already traced the communiqué about Final Order sympathisers.

She narrowed her eyes. "Finn..."

"What?"

"Tell me the truth."

He sighed. "Fine, but I really need you to start showing me some of this Force stuff. I don't know what the hell I'm doing when I sense things, or when you sense things."

"I will, I promise. Please just tell me what you know."

"OK." He indicated to her bed and they sat down next to each other. "Connix traced a comm that went out shortly after we'd left Shu-Torun. It's still being translated in full but--"

"Translated from what?"

He held her gaze. "Sith."

Her head dropped into her hands. "And it said?" she murmured.

Finn placed a reassuring hand on her back. "From what we've been able to tell, it was a call to any remaining followers of the Final Order."

"Who sent it?"

"No name was given. For what it's worth, I don't think it was the trooper cell. Sith language was never on the training schedule for troopers."

She looked up at him. "How long do we have?"

He raised one shoulder. "We don't know. But we should be off-planet soon enough. We think we've found a new location. It'll give us a much better base, more reinforcements, a solid foundation on which to rebuild."

Rey nodded. "That sounds good."

"It will be." He put an arm around her shoulder and smiled. "I can feel it."

She laughed and then her face stilled, her eyes settling on his. "Finn, I'm so sorry I disappeared the way I did after Tatooine."

He shook his head. "Don't apologise. I understand why."

"But what you said when we were there -- about us being out on a mission together -- you were right. We were a team, you and I, as soon as we met. You were the closest thing to family I'd had in-- Well, for as long as I can remember. And then we were apart for so long, and now..."

"Hey. It's OK. I miss those days too. But we're here now, and we've got a whole future ahead of us. And there's an academy to build, huh?" He squeezed her shoulder.

"An academy?" she repeated.

"Rey, the galaxy is full of Force-sensitives like me who don't have a clue what they're doing. They need a guide, a teacher. Rose and I met kids on Canto Bight who knew the Force and they were limited to sweeping out stables. We'll find them all -- you can teach them."

"But I feel like I only just learned it all myself, Finn..."

"And look how far you've come. Rey, you didn't take the Skywalker name for nothing. That name represents hope, balance, the strength of the Light Side and the Jedi path. You are the beacon."

She leant towards him and he ducked his head to hold her gaze, emphasising his point. "The Resistance aren't the only ones who need you," he said quietly.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning her head on to his shoulder. "Please tell me you'll be my first student."

"I gotta say, I was going to have words if that wasn't the case," Finn replied, and they both laughed.

"Rey, I came here to ask you something," he said after a few moments.

"Of course. What is it?" She sat up straight again.

Finn took a breath. "The dyad. We need to know what it can do."

"In terms of what?"

"That's what we need to find out," he responded. "Can you get Solo and meet us at the admin building?"

~

A short while later, Finn, Poe, Beaumont and Rose stood waiting in the admin base. They watched as Rey and Ben approached in the downpour. Finn in particular noted that Solo, dressed in a T-shirt and khaki shirt, was holding one side of his garment open over Rey's head to try to protect her from the rain.

"Generals," Ben said, nodding as he and Rey came up the steps. "Beaumont," he added, acknowledging the historian, who smiled and waved.

Rose stepped forward. "Hello. We haven't met. I'm Rose Tico. My sister Paige died when the First Order attacked us during the evacuation of D'Qar."

Poe and Finn glanced at each other, eyes wide. " _Rose did not come to play_ ," Poe murmured under his breath.

After a second's pause, Ben nodded solemnly. "Hello, Ms Tico," he said quietly. "I... I'm incredibly sorry for your loss, though I understand my words may be meaningless to you."

Rose stared at him. "You're right, they don't mean all that much to me. But you need to know that Paige sacrificed herself to save us -- to save the ones she loved. I respect the fact that when it came to it, you did the same."

She held his gaze a little longer and then walked back to stand beside Beaumont. A hush descended. The only sounds were of the rain hammering down on the wooden roof and the trees wavering under the deluge in the valley below.

Rose glanced at Beaumont when it started to feel like the silence had gone on for too long.

He leant towards her and whispered very quietly: "You said the word 'love', Rose..."

Poe broke the silence. "Rey, Solo? We need to get an idea of what this dyad really means. We're not turning up anything factual in the history books -- right, Beaumont?" He looked at him.

"Nothing confirmed, no," Beaumont agreed. "Just conjecture."

"And we're assuming you two are just as clueless as we are," Poe finished.

Rey and Ben exchanged a glance, the memory of what had happened in the quarters building fresh in both their minds.

"We want you to try something," Finn said.

"Like what?" Rey asked.

Poe looked at Ben. "Take off the amulet, Solo."

"General, are you--"

"We're sure," Finn said calmly. "It won't stay off for long, but we need to know what we're dealing with here."

Ben glanced at Rey uncertainly. She nodded to him, stepping forward and taking the amulet from around his neck herself. Poe took it from her, placing it carefully in his shirt pocket.

"Not a word of this to anyone, got it?" Finn said, looking around the room.

Everyone nodded.

"Rey," Ben said quietly, looking down at her.

When she caught his gaze she gasped, their Force connection already back and crackling in the air between them. She frowned when she heard what he was thinking, but he nodded his reassurance to her.

"Yes," he said. "It's the only way I'll try this."

"Finn?" she said, catching up to her friend as they all made their way out of the admin building. Thanks to the rain, nobody else was around.

He turned to face her. "What is it?"

She unhooked her lightsaber from her belt and held it out to him. "Take it."

He glanced down at the weapon before looking back at her questioningly.

"I want you to have a failsafe, General," Ben said as he came up behind Rey. "In case anything about this goes wrong."

Finn slowly took the lightsaber out of Rey's hand, holding Solo's gaze.

"Don't hesitate to use it if you need to," Ben reiterated.

Finn looked back at Rey, seeing the worry in her eyes.

"You won't need to," she said. "I know you won't."

Finn said nothing, just nodded and turned, clipping Rey's saber to his own belt as they headed down to the valley below.


	26. Chapter 26

**Ajan Kloss**

Rey and Ben positioned themselves beside each other, about a standard metre apart, in the centre of the grassy plain.

“Well? What should we do?” she asked.

Poe, Finn, Rose and Beaumont stood to their left, their faces displaying varying degrees of trepidation and interest. Poe looked at Finn, who stepped forward to take the lead.

“Can you each do something using the Force? Lift up those rocks, maybe?” He pointed to a mound of boulders that were gathered a little way ahead of them all, glistening wet in the rain.

“OK,” Rey agreed. “We can do that. Ben, you go first?”

Ben pushed his hand through his hair as she looked down at her, nervous despite himself. He hadn’t used the Force at all since… Well, since he and Rey had fought Palpatine. It wasn’t that he didn’t think he could do it, but somehow it felt like he shouldn’t.

“It’s all right,” she murmured, smiling at him.

He took a deep breath and lifted his right arm, his hand outstretched in the direction of the boulders. Straight away he felt the flow of the Force gathering in his veins. It was weaker than he’d always known it to be, and that was no doubt reflective of his continuing recovery. But all the same, the ground trembled slightly as the smallest of the boulders began to lift into the air: two, three, four of them -- until only the largest still remained in place.

As the boulder began to shake, so did his arm. He dropped his hand to his side and they all watched the smaller boulders fall back to the ground with a wet thud. “I don’t know if I can do much more than that. Not now.”

“Good to know," Poe said. "I’ll get the Doc to check you over once we’re done here.”

Ben nodded, feeling as though he needed to gather his breath.

“You OK?” Finn asked plainly. “Looks like that cost you something, Solo.”

Rey looked up at Ben. “Maybe you shouldn’t do this if you don’t feel strong enough,” she said, the concern evident in her voice and on her brow.

He shook his head. “It’s fine. Just a little out of practice. There’s no problem, General,” he confirmed to Finn.

“Rey, can you try now?” Poe asked.

She glanced at Ben once more and then focused on the rocks. Her hand rose just a little, level with her waist, her palm facing ahead. As her eyes closed, every single one of the rocks rose up into the air. The smaller ones lifted effortlessly above the largest boulder, which trembled only once before detaching from the ground with a wet shucking noise. It levitated comfortably in the air, and when it reached the height of a small tree, Finn called for her to stop.

“That’s great. Thanks, Rey.”

Her fingers closed into her palm and her eyes opened, each one of the boulders lowering safely back down to the ground.

“She’s much stronger than he is,” Rose commented, to which Beaumont agreed effusively.

“She always was,” Ben said, a comment that Rose acknowledged with an incisive nod.

“Let’s try again, but this time do it together?” Poe said.

Rey nodded, a smile growing on her face as she looked up at Ben.

“What?” he asked, both confused and amused by her expression.

“I want to see what we can do.” She held her hand out to him as she widened her stance, almost bouncing on her toes.

He looked into her eyes. The light that glowed inside them seemed to flow straight into him -- buoying him out of his doubts, his worries -- and he felt himself start to smile too. “OK. Let’s go,” he said, and took her hand in his.

The second they touched one another it was as though a wave of pure energy had risen from nowhere, crashing over both of them.

“Do you feel it now?” Rey gasped, staring at him.

He couldn’t speak for a moment. If this was how it felt just to take her hand with the Force flowing between them, without the amulet in their way, then what else lay ahead? What other wild sensations and possibilities could there be in this dyad when nothing stood between them? His gaze deepened into hers, knowing she was wondering the very same thing herself.

“Ben…” she murmured, tightening her fingers around his palm.

Every nerve ending inside him pulsed with the pure nearness of her as the Force flowed in and around them.

“I--” He took a breath to salvage himself, closing his eyes briefly as he tried to reach clarity in his mind. When he looked at her again, trying desperately to control the raw power that was flowing through him, her smile was wider than ever.

“I feel everything,” he murmured, a laugh escaping him. _What a strange emotion this is…_

He tightened his grip on her hand and she moved closer to his side. “Rey, I’ve never felt this -- the full power of the Light Side.”

She blinked, stunned by his statement.

“The Force in me, it was always twisted and tainted…” he murmured, his body somehow both taut and trembling at once. “Until you.”

Tears began to glisten in her eyes, and he could feel both her sadness and her joy swimming through him. When he lifted his other hand to brush the tears away with his thumb, his hand was shaking.

“I’ve never felt anything like you,” he said, holding his palm against her cheek just for a few more seconds, his fingers delving into her hair.

“Guys? The rocks…?” Poe called out.

Beaumont clung on to Rose’s elbow. “Are they -- glowing?” he said. “Or did I drink too much caf?”

Finn swallowed. “No -- you didn’t. What the pfassk…? Anyone seen anything like this before?” He glanced quickly at the others. Nobody moved.

“No,” Poe murmured.

“Closest thing I’ve seen is the lightning Rey threw on Pasaana,” Finn said quietly. “She didn’t even know she could do it. But this…”

“It’s the Light Side of the Force,” Rose said, transfixed by the golden aura that was shimmering around the two of them. “I didn’t think it was something you could see, but just look at it. It’s pure energy.”

“Let’s take a step away, huh?” Poe suggested, and they all moved back a couple of paces. “Guys?” he called again to Rey and Ben, louder this time.

His voice broke through their reverie and Rey tore her gaze briefly from Ben to nod at her friends. “Let’s do it,” she whispered, her gaze settling on Ben once more.

He returned her nod, and together they lifted their free hands.

Every single rock rose effortlessly from the ground, spinning and dancing in the air as if they weighed nothing. Higher and higher they went as Rey and Ben directed them, until the circular dip and dive of the movement became a blur -- a shadow at first, growing lighter and more illuminated as the speed increased.

“Would you look at that…” Beaumont whispered in awe as the boulders began to break open.

Golden light seeped through the cracks. It sent rays of energy blazing across the valley and cut scatters of rainbows through the rain. A sound like thunder rolled from tree to tree and, as it reached its crescendo, the rocks broke apart as one. Glittering residue drifted down towards the ground like a gentle snowfall.

Rose gazed around and then held out her palm. “Look,” she breathed.

The others stared down at her hand. Raindrops shimmered on her skin as she caught them; they rippled through an arc of colours, from cyan to gold to magenta to pure bright silver.

“Incredible,” Beaumont murmured, before tacking on an awkward “ _Ah…_ ” when he was the first to look up at Rey and Ben.

The two of them were standing directly in front of each other, their free arms drifting almost mindlessly back down to their sides. Rey's hand was engulfed in Ben's, clasped tightly at her hip. It looked as though nothing else existed in their world at that moment.

Beaumont clapped his hands together. “Well, I’d call that a success -- how about you folks?”

Poe caught Beaumont’s eye, and while he would usually deliver a sarcastic remark right about then, instead he found himself grinning.

Rose began to laugh and grabbed Finn by the arms. “I’ve never seen anything like that! Have you? Finn?”

He looked down at her when she put her hand on his wet cheek, focusing his gaze on hers.

“Can you feel it, Finn? The Force? It’s like it radiated from them.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I can feel it.”

Rose pulled him towards her and hugged him tight.

With a slight sigh he rested his chin down on to her shoulder and looked at the ground. So that was the dyad. It was clear it was something positive -- and that could only be good news, to have such power in the Light Side of the Force -- and yet…

“It’s going to be all right,” Rose murmured against his ear. “You know that, don’t you?”

Finn closed his eyes, calming his thoughts as Rey had taught him to back on Tatooine. He asked his mind to let go of everything else, asked the Force to tell him something he couldn’t be sure of just by himself.

When he opened his eyes and glanced up, he could see the light shining in Rey’s eyes even from this distance. See the pure elation on her face. And he knew.

“I understand now,” he whispered into Rose’s shoulder. “It’s OK… It’s OK.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Ajan Kloss**

“Rose, you got a minute?” Poe asked as they all headed back up to the admin building.

“Sure.”

They hung back from the others and he looked at her, hands on his hips. “You think Finn’s OK?”

“He’s getting there,” Rose replied. “It was always going to be the hardest for him out of any of us. But he felt something back there. I think he’s starting to see it now.”

Poe nodded. “That’s good.”

Rose narrowed her eyes. “You know he’s Force-sensitive, right?” she asked.

“What? No?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Always has been. Rey’s shown him a few things but I think he picked up on more than we did back there.”

“I’ll be damned,” Poe said. “Why’d he never say anything?”

She shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him, but in my opinion, I think he doubted himself for a long time.”

“OK. I’ll talk to him about it later.”

Rose nodded and started to walk ahead but Poe put a gentle hand on her forearm. “One more thing.”

She stopped. “What is it?”

He took his hand off her arm and rubbed his jaw. “I heard some of what you said to Finn back there -- about how the Force was radiating off the two of them. You really think that’s what was happening?”

She looked at him quite openly. “Looked like it. I don’t know about you, but I felt some sort of... wave of positivity. Like it was something so good and pure it could open people’s eyes to things that had been out of their reach before. You know?”

Poe thought for a minute. “Yeah, I think I get it. But…”

“What?”

“Do you think it actually made you feel _different_ , Rose? Theoretically speaking?”

“Maybe. I know I felt really happy. It was like joy had become a visible thing for a minute. Almost as though you could touch it.” She glanced at the others up at the admin building and then back at Poe, stepping closer to him. “Do you think they know they can do that?”

“I’m guessing no," he replied. "But it’s an intriguing concept. The ability to spread the Light Side of the Force, to transmit it to other people.”

She smiled. “So you _do_ know what I mean -- you felt it too?”

“Well, not in as much as--” He hesitated, gesturing emptily with his hands. “I mean, I was with them this morning when they had a moment, and afterwards…”

Rose waited. “Afterwards what? Something happened with you?”

“I don’t know, but when I left them to go to the comms room…” He shook his head, non-plussed. “It’s probably nothing.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Rose said. “You said it yourself -- there’s something potent about the dyad's power. I don’t doubt it can affect other people, other things.”

“Well, I guess we’ll see,” Poe muttered, wanting to end the conversation. “Come on, let’s head back.”

~

With the amulet back on, Poe and Ben headed for the quarters building to meet Dr Kalonia.

“Don’t say anything about what just happened,” Poe warned him. “Not yet, at least.”

“Of course.” Ben nodded.

“You feel OK after all that?” Poe asked, while they waited inside Leia’s quarters.

“A little drained, I suppose.”

“But?”

Ben caught his eye. “But what?”

Poe leaned against the wall, arms and ankles crossed. “She does something to you, doesn’t she? It’s kind of impossible not to see.”

Ben pushed his hands through his wet hair and then rubbed them together, spreading the droplets of rain into his skin. “Yes,” he said simply.

“Has she always?” Poe asked after a minute.

“Yes.”

“Ah, General,” Kalonia said, coming into the room. She nodded to Poe and then turned to Ben. “Ready for another test?”

“Go ahead, Doc,” Poe said.

Ben pulled his shirtsleeve up so Kalonia could take a sample.

“How are we feeling?” she asked him.

“Good,” Ben said. “My leg feels pretty much back to normal.”

“Excellent,” she responded, plugging the vial on to the back of her datapad. “You’ll be interested to know that I managed to access some of the records from Artoo, and I found your previous midi-chlorian count. It was last recorded on your eighteenth birthday.”

Poe moved forward from the wall. “And?”

“Twenty-two thousand,” Kalonia confirmed.

“That’s exactly the same as Rey, isn’t it?” Poe said.

The doctor nodded, a surreptitious smile on her lips. “Strange how that’s worked out. And you didn’t hear it from me, because there are no official sources--” she said, looking at them both very carefully, “-- but that means that together you were, or are, stronger than Emperor Palpatine.”

“How can you know that?” Ben asked, although somehow inside he knew it was true.

“Probably best to ask Maz -- or come to think of it, don’t. After we ran your initial tests she told me she’d once been made privy to some of the Emperor’s medical records. Some sort of tit-for-tat exchange; I doubt the details matter and it's probably better that we don't know them anyway. She said it always remained stuck in her mind that the Emperor’s midi-chlorian count was recorded at just under forty thousand: the highest known for one individual person. Now that we know that you and Rey have formed a dyad…”

“Then together we’re stronger than Palpatine ever was,” Ben finished.

Kalonia eyed him carefully. “That’s assuming you recover to your previous count.”

“And has he?” Poe asked.

The doctor looked down at her datapad. “He’s very much getting there. Just under sixteen thousand now.”

“But the previous increase was three thousand overnight,” Ben said.

“Yes, and you’ve doubled that since this morning. Has anything of note happened over the last few hours?”

The two men exchanged a glance.

“Nope,” Poe answered quickly. “Guess he’s just recovering faster than we thought.” He couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable under Kalonia’s shrewd gaze.

“Well, as it’s nearly the evening then I’ll test you again in the morning, Ben. It’s my estimate that you’ll be back to full strength within a day or two at most.”

The two men thanked the doctor and looked at each other as soon as she’d left the room.

“I don’t like keeping the truth from her,” Poe said.

“I understand. If you’d rather be honest then I have no problem with that. The spike dice can fall wherever they’re headed.” Ben almost took a double-take as he realized how much he sounded like his father.

“I appreciate that,” Poe replied, “but there’s a lot going on, and we’ve got a hell of a job in front of us with this base move, let alone everything with you and Rey. We’ll get there, Solo. But for now we stick to the plan.”

Ben nodded. “Of course, General.”

“Until tomorrow, then,” Poe said, almost bumping into Rey as he headed out of the room. He looked from her to Ben and pointed at the amulet. “That stays on, got it? I’ve got an important comm to take care of and I can’t have your… _energy_ , let’s call it, interrupting the transmission.”

Ben looked at the floor, but Poe spotted the crafty smile that appeared on Rey’s lips. He winked at her and left.

“How are you feeling?” Rey asked, tentatively entering the room.

“I’m OK,” Ben said.

Her eyes went to his rolled-up sleeve. “Did the doctor run another test?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’m nearly at sixteen thousand. Apparently my final target is twenty-two.”

He began to roll his shirtsleeve back down but the garment was so wet he decided to just take it off. She watched his arm muscles flex beneath the short sleeves of his T-shirt as he did so.

He held her gaze as she moved closer. “What are you doing?” he asked in a low voice that surprised even himself. _Was he… teasing her?_

“I just wanted…” she began.

His hands rose automatically to her waist as she stood in front of him, coming to rest with his thumbs brushing gently over her hips. “Wanted what?”

She touched the amulet again, taking it between her thumb and forefinger. He felt the warm breath of her sigh through his T-shirt.

“I wish you didn’t have to wear this.”

“But I do, and I will,” he responded.

She nodded. “I know.” Her eyes looked darker than he’d ever seen them when she looked up at him. “One day you won’t have to any more.”

He could see her gaze dart down to his mouth as rolled his lips together. “And then…?” he asked, unable to stop himself.

“Then you’ll feel everything I feel,” she said, and she let her fingers drift away from the amulet and over the expanse of his chest.

His breath turned shallow as her hand travelled over him, stopping when she reached the ridge of one of his battle scars. She looked up at him, her fingers warm through the thin, rain-dampened material of his T-shirt.

“I can heal this for you,” she murmured.

In that moment he would have let her do anything. Given himself over to her until the end of time; cast away anything and everything that had ever mattered if only it meant he was with her.

“No,” he managed to say, watching as her other hand rose between them. “Rey…”

He almost lost the bearings to his intentions when he saw tiny sparks of golden light burning tentatively at the tips of her fingers. She gazed at him, asking permission in total silence.

“No,” he breathed again, bringing his hand to hers.

He couldn’t feel the sparks, couldn’t feel the warmth she was generating through the Force. But he could read all of it in her eyes.

His fingers intertwined with hers, their palms pressing together. She was so much smaller than he was. His hand engulfed hers, his fingers reaching higher and farther over every one of hers. The instinct to protect her that surged through him every time she was near was almost absurd -- because she would never need his protection, strong as she was. But if it was the only thing he could give her, he would.

“No?” she asked breathlessly, as the sparks began to fade.

He shook his head. “I can’t erase who I was. The scars are part of who I am. And you forget that you already healed one when you saved me.”

Her eyes travelled over his face then, as though retracing the memory of the lightsaber scar he used to bear.

“Do you remember that when you did that, you told me you wanted to take my hand?” he asked softly.

“Yes,” she sighed.

“Look,” he said, and he flexed his fingers between hers, running his thumb over her knuckles.

She followed his gaze to their hands.

“The things we saw about each other," he said. "They’re coming true.”


	28. Chapter 28

**Royal Palace, Shu-Torun**

“I must say how pleasing it is to see so many of you still loyal to the cause, even after the loss of our leader.”

Barrus Thorne scanned the faces in front of him; a veritable mish-mash of representation from across the galaxy. Some of those present weren’t afraid of showing their allegiances and never had been, whereas others kept their true motivations veiled from the public for decorum’s sake. But that might change soon enough...

“Some of you, like myself, were present during the original fragmentation of the Empire many years ago, and your steadfast loyalty has always been appreciated,” Barrus said, walking slowly around the long table, the fire crackling in the great hearth to one side. “Others among you are younger, and you have borne witness only to the might of the First and Final Order. Though the attempts to seize power in these recent times have been thwarted, I can see that every one of you remains purposeful when it comes to the obliteration of the Light Side.”

Nods and murmurs echoed in a wave around the table.

“And yet it appears the Jedi, while thought to have been destroyed and dissolved, may yet rise again,” Barrus continued. “It is an unpalatable truth to us all -- and all the more bitter when we hear that the final strike against our most eminent leader--” Barrus modulated his voice, ensuring that his distaste for Palpatine did not reveal itself, “-- was dealt by a girl.”

Several of those present spat on the floor. Their actions, though understandable, disgusted Thorne, and he motioned for a guard to clean up the mess.

“Rumours have been circulating that the girl was herself a Palpatine, and yet she did not deign to receive the might and mantle of her family name. This girl ingratiated herself with the Skywalker family, attempted to train as a Jedi, and has even reputedly taken the Skywalker name for her own.”

Someone thumped the table with their fist. “Skywalker filth! May we be ever thankful for their demise.”

Cheers rose amongst the gathered and Barrus took this opportunity to develop the tension. Raising a dark eyebrow, he rounded the end of the table, placed his hands on the surface and leaned forward.

“You may feel thankful, gentlemen, but I am afraid your sentiments are misplaced.”

A ripple of confusion slithered through the room. Glances between those present revealed both doubt and bewilderment.

“There has been an unexpected revelation,” Barrus intoned. “One that will shake the very foundations of the galaxy -- and most especially those who consider the Skywalker name to be the representation of hope and light,” he said, revulsion dripping from his words. “Now is our chance to make clear not only the intent, but the purpose of those who still follow the way of the Sith; the way of the Dark Side.”

“Chancellor Thorne, we would welcome your enlightenment,” said an elderly man, whom Barrus knew to have been made a moff during the Empire’s dying days.

Barrus straightened, adjusting a ring on his left hand and relishing the drama he was spinning so tautly with his silence.

“First…” he began, “allow me to remind you how hopeful we were with the rise of the First Order. After too long a period of peace, the First Order seemed to be our chance to regain control, did it not?” His audience reverently murmured their agreement. “The unveiling of the Final Order should have built upon those foundations, ensuring a strong and successful path back to the Dark Side, and yet…” The tension stretched as the fire crackled and hissed in the grate. “And yet the Supreme Leader we knew as Kylo Ren failed at the final hurdle,” Barrus continued, allowing his gaze to roam all the way up and down the table. “Ren was, in the end, failed not just by his weakness and his reluctance to follow the orders of our most esteemed Emperor -- but by the very blood in his veins.”

“His bloodline?” the former moff questioned. “Of which family do you speak, Chancellor?”

Barrus moved to stand in front of the fire, waiting until every last face had turned to focus on him and him only.

“Kylo Ren was no ordinary young man. He was the grandson of Darth Vader.” Thorne paused, allowing the cogs to turn while the flames burned on behind him. “And he is, therefore, the last Skywalker.”

“B-but, Barrus -- you speak of Ren as though he is still alive,” the former moff managed to say, as those around the table processed the news. “Didn’t he perish at Exegol with the majority of our fleets?”

“No.” Barrus shook his head slowly. “It is with great interest that I report to you that Kylo Ren, the last of the Skywalker bloodline -- or _Solo_ , as he was so named after his pathetic bandit father -- is alive.”

Another guest looked around as though expecting the imminent entrance of Kylo Ren. “Why isn’t he here? Why isn’t he leading the charge for the resurgence of the Empire?”

“Because, gentlemen, Ren has turned. He has fled to the seat of his family: to the Resistance and their feeble excuse for a new Jedi way.”

“Sacrilege! Preposterous!” the attendees proclaimed.

Barrus smiled wolfishly. “Indeed, my friends. And that is why we must take action. The galaxy is scarred; weakened by yet another great battle. The Resistance is not a large, organised and uniform intergalactic force. It is a scrappy band of men, women, creatures and droids -- many less than half our age -- with no structure and no real leadership. No Jedi Order on which to lean. The people they think of as their allies have all returned to their home planets. They will not be willing to fight again -- and certainly not for a cause that is hiding a former Supreme Leader in its ranks.”

He slammed his hand down on the table. “Now is our time, gentlemen! But let me be clear -- we will not be forming masses of soldiers. We will not attack them with a barrage of fire, fleets of ships, or a planetary destructor. Instead we will slink from the shadows and infiltrate their people. We will pick them off one by one, decimating their desire to build peace in the galaxy."

"How so, Chancellor?" asked the elderly moff.

"With the insidious and scrupulously planned efforts that enabled the Empire to take control in the first place. Our venerable Emperor turned two of the Skywalkers to the Dark Side by dripping poison in their ears, by twisting their minds with his words. We will destroy the last of the Skywalker line, and the Resistance itself, by following his example.”

Barrus looked around at the nodding heads, the sounds of agreement. “And make no mistake… We will bring Kylo Ren to justice, and the example we will make of his treason will be heard across the galaxy.”

Cheers erupted around the table, fists thumping and chairs scraping against the flagstones.

“What can we do? Tell us, Chancellor!”

Thorne smiled, his teeth glinting in the firelight. “It begins with a message…”

~

**Ajan Kloss**

The following morning the base was a hive of activity with the news of the move to Chandrila. Finn and Poe had gathered the entire Resistance crew in the landing zone -- the only space big enough to fit everybody.

“We hope to leave in the next two days,” Finn announced, to everyone’s surprise. “It doesn’t give us long, but you all know just how cramped things have been getting here. The more people we rescue, the more planets we reach out to for trade and supply, the less room and infrastructure we have.”

“Your immediate focus needs to be on packing up,” Poe continued. “Each team -- engineering, tech, maintenance, military, comms, weapons, facilities -- needs to have a senior member take point and report to us by this afternoon. Tell us what you need to get the job done and how soon you can be ready.”

Finn nodded. “We’ll be starting from scratch on Chandrila, because it’s giving us the chance to form ourselves into a cohesive and growing unit. There are buildings there for us to use, and everyone will have their own quarters, more or less. We’ll have better facilities for transport as well as training, and more besides.” Finn smiled as the anticipation rose around them. “It’s a great place for us to build, but the more organized we can be better. That means moving fast, and planning down to the letter. Anything you’re not sure about, you report to me or Poe. Got it?”

Everyone nodded, an excited ripple of agreement flowing around the crowd, and with a nod from their Generals, the people dispersed quickly to their stations to start work on the mammoth task ahead of them.

Finn clapped Poe on the back. “Feeling good?”

Poe grinned. “Pretty damn good, General. Let’s get to work.”

~

Ben was expecting either Rey or Dr Kalonia when he heard a quick rap on the door followed by the lock clunking open. But when he looked up and saw the silver tip of a cane swing confidently through the doorway, he realised it was neither.

He scrambled to his feet, trying to gather his wits.

“Hey, kid.”

Ben scrambled for purchase in his mind, memories flooding through him. He swallowed. “Hi…” he managed, his voice betraying his nerves.

The older man came to a stop, rested both hands on top of his cane and cast his gaze over Ben. “So, this mysterious exile of yours -- it take your manners as well as your tongue? Or have you just forgotten my name?”

“No, I…”

An eyebrow raised in amusement. “Either you spit it out or I’ll get the Wookiee to hoist you by your collar, kid.”

A laugh escaped Ben’s lips, though only a sliver separated it from turning into a sob. “Hi… Uncle Lando.”

A smile curled Lando Calrissian’s lips upwards. “He speaks. How you feeling, Ben?”

Ben didn’t know what to say. How did he feel? Good? He was alive, he was here... But was he really all right?

“Lando, I… I need to--” He fumbled for the words.

“Nah,” Lando said, stepping forward and resting his hand gently on the shoulder of the young man who had always been as good as his nephew. “We’re not doing that today.”

“But I have to apol--”

“ _Son_.” Lando slowly shook his head.

Ben gritted his jaw rigidly in an attempt at restraint as he looked into the older man’s eyes. In them he saw his past, his childhood. _His family_.

“We’ve got time," Lando said gently. "I just wanted to check in on you. Your mom, your dad -- the two of ‘em would kick my ass if I didn’t.”

Ben’s vision began to swim as the tears broke through his defences.

Lando pulled him into a fatherly embrace, the young man's forehead coming to rest on his shoulder.

“It’s all right, kid. It’s all right,” Lando murmured, feeling the boy hold on tight as he sank down into the unstoppable current of his grief.

“I’m sorry,” Ben said, the tears unstoppable now. “I can’t-- I’m just so sorry. So damn sorry, Lando...”

And the son of the scoundrel pilot and the princess-turned-rebel-figurehead let go, crying tears of loss over and over again for his parents.


	29. Chapter 29

**Ajan Kloss**

By the time dusk began to fall over the base, three huge piles of trunks, boxes and bound-up cargo crates were already waiting in the landing zone.

Rose brushed her hands over the fern bushes as she walked along the path to see Finn, Poe and Connix, who were busily planning the logistics of what needed to go on which ship. “You guys need help?” she asked.

They turned to look at her.

“Hey,” Finn said. “We’re good for the minute, I think. How’s it going at the treehouse?”

Connix smiled. “Look who’s calling it the treehouse now. I knew it would catch on.”

“Catch on, like, ‘right before we leave’ catch on?” Poe drawled.

“Still counts," Connix responded. "Who says we won’t come back one day?”

Finn raised an eyebrow at Rose. “So, you and Beaumont doing OK?” he asked.

“We’re nearly halfway through, but he’s just started panicking about whether he should be boxing things according to date order or alphabetically. I told him it didn’t matter, and that he could categorise and alphabetise to his heart’s content once we get to Chandrila, but he’s three cups of caf down and I can’t listen to his mutterings any more.”

Finn chuckled. “He’s going to lose his mind when we get there. I hear there’s an extensive library and archive.”

“I think everyone’s going to lose their minds,” Connix added. “You guys have heard about the Skygarden, right?”

“Ooh, what’s a Skygarden?” Rose breathed, her eyes lighting up.

“Look, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Poe interrupted. “We still have a lot to do and I’m sure there will be plenty of time to check out all the facilities once we get settled in. Skygardens and museums can wait.”

Connix held Poe’s gaze. “There’s an opera house, too. And a plaza.” She watched him grit his jaw. “Did I mention the high-rises?" His eyes widened. "Lakes. A zoo…”

Finn and Rose exchanged a glance before looking back at their friends, who were barely blinking as they stared at one other.

“Connix,” Poe said tightly, “I’d prefer we didn’t get sidelined with leisure pursuits right now because we have a lot to do and many people depending on us. Is that OK with you, Lieutenant?” he asked, his tone suggesting the question only had one answer.

She shrugged one shoulder before looking away. “All I’m saying is that all work and no play can create an environment of frustration, General. A lot of people here could do with a little bit of rest and relaxation.”

“ _Sooo_ , anyway,” Finn said, catching Rose's eye. “I think we’re good here for now, but there is something important we haven’t tackled yet.”

“I can take care of it. Shoot.”

“Leia’s quarters,” Finn replied. “Her things need to be packed up too. Can you go talk to Solo about it?”

“Solo?” Poe repeated.

“He’s her son. It’s only right. Isn’t it?” Finn suggested.

“No, it is,” Poe agreed. “I just… It's a good idea.” He gave Finn a sincere nod.

“I’ll do it now,” Rose said. “Good, er… luck with the rest of this.”

Finn waved as she turned to leave, mouthing the words “Thanks a bunch” to her as Connix and Poe resumed glaring at each other.

~

Rey sat on the bed in Leia’s quarters, Ben standing beside her as they waited for the latest blood results to come through on Dr Kalonia’s datapad.

“Ah, as I suspected,” the older woman said. “You are fully restored, young man. Twenty-two thousand on the dot.”

Rey glanced up at Ben, a smile emerging on her face.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Ben responded. “Will you need to check again?”

“Well, I assume we're done here now, if we’re working off the assumption that your midi-chlorian level at the age of eighteen held steady through adulthood. But we can certainly run a test every now and then just to be sure.” She closed up her datapad. “I’ve a lot to get on with at the med bay, what with all the packing, so why don’t we run one more test once we’ve arrived on Chandrila to see how the land lies?”

“Chandrila…?” Ben repeated, confusion clouding his features.

“I don’t know about you two but I’m very much looking forward to it.” Kalonia smiled. “Hanna City has facilities that are standard years ahead of what we’ve been working with here. I’m all for being amongst the elements, but I’m also very much looking forward to all the mod-cons.” She bid them both goodbye and disappeared.

Ben sat down next to Rey, resting his forearms on his knees.

“You didn’t know?” she asked.

“No, I… We’re really going to Chandrila?”

She nodded, sliding her hand over the top of his leg to reach his fingers and take them in hers. “We are. Is that OK? I know you have history there.”

“You could say that.”

“We can make this work,” she said, “even though I’m sure it will feel hard. I’m with you, Ben.”

He looked at her. “I know you are. And I can’t tell you what that means.”

She smiled. “But I just can’t see myself walking through those streets. I can’t see myself living an ordinary life there.”

“Hey,” she soothed, stroking his jaw with her other hand. “One step at a time. That’s how we’ll do this. Together.”

He closed his eyes, tilting his head to press deeper into her hand.

Her gaze roamed over his face. His jet-black eyebrows; the shadows beneath his eyes. The strong line of his nose. Every one of his freckles, his moles -- their locations on his skin, every one of which she could trace in her sleep. The bristle of his obsidian beard, somehow soft despite itself.

Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss to his stubbled jaw before parting her lips slightly. Her senses sprang to life with the tentative friction and he sighed on to her skin.

“Ah, there you--”

They moved apart at the sound of Rose’s voice.

“I’ll… come back later?” she said, spinning on her heel in the corridor.

“It’s fine,” Rey said. “Everything OK?”

Rose stopped. “I just needed to speak to you about… Actually, it’s probably better that you’re both here.”

“Is something wrong?” Ben asked, standing up.

“No, no.” Rose waved her hands. “No problem. It’s just that everyone’s packing, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, and -- well…”

Ben glanced at the railing of clothes, the chest, the wooden boxes stacked by the chair. “My mother’s things,” he said quietly.

“Yes. Finn asked if you could maybe take care of them?”

Rey nodded. “No problem. We’ll get everything together.”

“OK.” Rose smiled. “There are boxes out here in the corridor. If you need a hand, let me know. I’ll be in the treehouse, calming every single one of Beaumont’s last nerves.”

Once she’d left, Rey looked at Ben. “Do you want to start now?” she asked gently.

“Yeah,” he said after a little while. “Yeah, now.”

Rey rubbed a hand over the base of Ben’s back before letting her hand slide around his waist and settle on his hip. “Leia wouldn’t take any prisoners on this, would she?”

He shook his head. “She would not. The longer we wait, the more she’d tap her foot and the fiercer that glare would get.”

Rey suppressed a chuckle as they moved over to the chest. “It really could be fierce, couldn’t it?” she said, as Ben opened the first of the drawers.

“Used to freeze my dad in his tracks.”

Rey nodded. “I can see that.” She looked up and saw a very small but bittersweet smile on Ben’s lips. “I like hearing you talk about them,” she whispered.

He blinked and took a deep breath, lifting out a wrap of Leia’s, in shimmering dark scarlet. “It’s strange,” he said. “I don’t feel entitled to, but… Lando said something to me that I can’t stop thinking about.”

Rey waited.

“You know he had a daughter?” Ben said. “ _Has_ a daughter.”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“He has no idea where she is, what she’s done. All he knows is that she was taken by the First Order. Probably became a stormtrooper.”

Rey sighed. “I had no idea.”

Ben ran a large thumb over the fabric of his mother’s wrap, a frown settling on his brow. “He said that… He said that if she ever returned, no matter what she’d done or who she’d become, he would welcome her with open arms. And he said that my--”

Rey felt her throat sharpen with emotion. She tried to imbue him with strength through the Force, watching him take a shuddering in-breath, but she knew he couldn’t feel it.

“He said that my parents would’ve done the same in a shot. In a heartbeat.”

“He’s right,” Rey said quietly after a few moments. “They would. No question.”

Ben said nothing, just glanced at her and then nodded.

“I’ll get a box,” she said, her words soft in the silence.

When she came back in he was still holding the wrap and in his other hand he held a necklace. Squares of hammered silver held together corner to corner in a loop, their undulating surfaces reflecting the light like pieces of aquamarine shell as he moved it between his fingers.

“Ben, that’s beautiful. I never saw her wearing that.”

“Nor did I -- that I can remember. But I think she showed it to me once. I must have been playing in her dressing room…”

“How old were you?”

He sighed. “I don’t… Four, maybe. I’m not sure. She said she wore this only once at a very special ceremony.”

“She had so many beautiful pieces,” Rey said, placing the box on the floor between them.

Ben turned to her. “You should have something,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“Something of hers. From her collection. It should be worn.”

Rey shook her head. “Ben, I can’t. Everything of hers is too precious and I’m always so busy and-- I just couldn’t wear anything like this.”

She felt panicked all of a sudden. She knew she was in a position of leadership, but she would never compare to Leia -- never. Jewels and gowns and a regal and commanding presence in that way would never be her forte.

Ben acquiesced with a gentle nod. “If you change your mind…” He trailed off.

“I don’t think I will.”

“But if you do,” he said, “I know she’d be proud to see it.”

Rey nodded, wanting to change the subject. She ran her hands over her hair, tucking some of the loose tendrils behind her ears. “Why don’t you carry on with the chest,” she said, turning around. “I’ll move these wooden boxes out into the hall.”

When she opened the first one she didn’t speak for a moment.

“What is it?” Ben said.

She felt the warmth of his hand land softly on the small of her back as he came to stand beside her. Reaching into the box with both hands, she lifted out two Jedi training helmets.


End file.
